Our Firm Foundation

.;

The Everlasting Gospel

The 7t h Day Sabbath Immutable Law of God
Non-Immortality of the Soul Three Angels' Messages., _;The Sanctuary

VoL I. No. 10

August, 1986

Special Edition-Spiritualism

Editorial
T tists
00 MANY Seventh-day Advenare unprepared for the
overwhelming surprises the devil will
soon bring to all the world. Are we
now prepared to withstand the master
spiritualist by the word of God if a
loved one should appear, giving hope
and comfort in the crisis hour? How
many leaders, pastors, and laity could
withstand the overwhelming evidences which the devil is capable of
producing?
We are told the disciples will be
personated by lying spirits claiming
that Christ changed the Sabbath from
Saturday to Sunday. See The Great
Controversy, 624, 557
What if Ellen White were to be
personated? To those of us who have
accepted her as God's messenger for
this last remnant of time, what effect
would tha t ha ve on the remna n t
church?
But spiritualism is more widespread than the seance chamber. On
every hand we see the insidious working of Satan to prepare our minds to
receive his deceitful, miracle-working
power. The occult has invaded our socalled "Christian" culture in every
form imaginable from the apparent
peace and tranquility of yoga and
transcendental meditation to the
blatant Satanism
of rock music.
---_._We must learn now, before it is too
late, to know God's pure truth from
the attractive and subtle errors of
spiritualism which are already leavening every level of society.
"Rapidly are men ranging themselves under the banner they have
chosen, restlessly waiting and watching the movements of their leaders.
There are those who are watching
and waiting and working for our
Lord's appearing; while the other
party are rapidly falling into line
under the generalship of the first
great apostate. They look for a god in
humanity, and Satan personifies the
one they seek. Multitudes will be so
deluded through their rejection of
truth that they will accept the
counterfeit. Humanity is hailed as
God.
"One has corne from the heavenly
courts to represent God in human
form. The Son of God was made man,
and dwelt among us. 'In Him was life;

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2 Our Firm Foundation August, 1996

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very air we breathe. We shall be affected by them unless we by faith

hang our helpless souls upon Christ.
I[ men are so easily misled now, how
will they stand when Satan shall personate Christ, and work miracles?
Who will be unmoved by his misrepresentations then-professing to be
Christ when it is only Satan assuming
the person of Christ, and apparently
working the works of Christ? What
will hold God's people from giving
their allegiance to false christs? 'Go
not after them.' Luke 17:23
"The doctrines must be plainly
understood. The men accepted to
preach the truth must be anchored;
then their vessel will hold against
storm and tempest, because the anchor holds them firmly. The decep.tions will increase, and we are to call
rebellion by its right name. We are to
stand with the whole armor on. In
this conflict we do not meet men
only, but principalities and powers.
We wrestle not against flesh and
blood. Let Ephesians 6: 10-18 be read
carefully and impressively in our
churches." Selected Messages, Book 2,
394, 395
The overmastering delusion will
take the world captive, and at that
time the majority of Seventh-day Adventists will join the enemy in the
final shaking and sifting of the
church. What tragedy! See Testimonies,
vol. 5, 50, 10; vol. 1,608, 609; vol. 8,41
"When the religion of Christ is
most held in contempt, when His law
is most despised, then should our zea)
be the warmest and our courage and
firmness the most unflinching. To
stand in defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake
us, to fight the battles of the Lord
when champions are few-this will be
our test. At this time we must gather
warmth from the coldness of others,
'courage from their cowardice, and
loyalty from their treason. The nation
will be on the side of the great rebel
leader." Testimonies, vol. 5, 136
May God prepare His people to
withstand these deceptions. We
believe that this special edition on
spiritualism is much needed now.

and the life was the light of men.

And the light shineth in darkness;
and the darkness comprehended it
not. . . . That was the true Light,
which lighteth every man that cometh
into the world. He was in the world,
and the world was made by Him, and
the world knew Him not. He carne
unto His own, and His own received
Him not. But as many as received
Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.' [John 1:4, 5, 9II]
"There are but two parties. Satan
works with his crooked, deceiving
power, and through strong delusions
he catches all who do not abide in the
truth, who have turned away their
ears from the truth and have turned
unto fables. Satan himself abode not
in the truth; he is the mystery of
iniquity. Through his sublety he gives
to his soul-destroying errors the appearance of truth. Herein is their
power to deceive. It is because they
are a counterfeit of the truth that
spiritualism, theosophy, and the like
deceptions gain such power over the
minds of men. Herein is the masterly
working of Satan. He pretends to be
the savior of man, the benefactor of
the human race, and thus he more
readily lures his victims to destruction." Testimonies to Ministers,
364, 365
Again the prophet speaks: "At the
great heart of the work, Satan will
use his hellish arts to the utmost. He
will seek in every way possible to interpose himself between the people
and God, and shut away the light."
Review and Herald, December 24, 1889
"The conflict is to wax fiercer and
fiercer. Satan will take the field and
personate Christ. He will misrepresent, misapply, and pervert everything he possibly can, to deceive, if
possible, the very elect. Even in our
day there have been and will continue to be entire families who have
once rejoiced in the truth, but who
will lose faith because of calumnies
and falsehoods brought to them in
regard to those whom they have loved
and with whom they have had sweet
counseL" Testimonies to Ministers, 411
And finally these two paragraphs
from Ellen White:
"Rebellion and apostasy are in the

RON SPEAR-EDITOR

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-- - ---- - - - -,

It is the mission of Hope International and the editors of Our Firm

Foundation to give the straight testimony and to present Christ and Him
crucified. The days that yet remain
of this world are few, and what we
do we must do quickly. We must
boldly proclaim the truths that place
us on so firm a foundation in the
midst of this troubled world.-THE
EDITORS

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Our Firm Foundation

Editorial Office:
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(206) 8326602

Copyright CJ 1986
Hope International

Vol. 1, No. 10

August. 1986

ARTICLES
Lying Spirits
The rise of modern spiritism

Editor Ron Spear

Managing Editor Dave Fiedler
Associate Editor Vern Jennings
Assistant Editor Joseph Leatherman
Copy Editor Lila Rae Frederick
Editorial Secretary Clarissa Fiedler
Contributing Editors Colin Standish,
Ralph Larson,
John Osborne
Art Director Bob Bresnahan
Layout Sharilyn Kendall
Typography Phyllis Covington
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Table of Contents

$14.50
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$24.50

Ron Spear

Lois Eggers

Shall We Consult Spiritualist Physicians?

Ellen G. White
Yesteryear's question, now back to haunt us

11

The New Spiritualism

It's here-have you recognized it?

Vincent Cherry

14

Science Falsely So Called

Ellen G. White
Beware the sophistication that contradicts the Word

17

Angelic Light or Demonic Darkness?

Now Adventists must decide

Dave Fiedler

19

Mind Cure
Ellen G. White
Right methods, wrong methods; be sure you know

22

Snares of Satan
The devil hasn't forgotten you

Ellen G. White

25

Warren Peters

28

Matters of the Mind

Your most precious possession-protect it

Mystical Medicine
"Spiritualist physicians" abound today

DEPARTMENTS
Editorial

Letters to the Editor

24

Melange

10

Religious Liberty Update

30

Looking Back

16

Books and Tapes

31

Line Upon Line

23

Invitation to Writers
We are accepting article-length (1800-2800 words) manuscripts for
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AU8ust, 1986 Our Firm Foundation 3

Lying
Spirits
Ron Spear

says top

surgeon who saw

ANDHaL>"

Chinese b
.
Y beings circle the patient
,ealer clai

's touch cures can:

'I Will Cast A S

ANY PEOPLE today believe in

ghosts, haunted houses, voodoo
and other phenomena from the spirit
world. Ouija boards are best sellers in
department stores. Gossip tabloids
feature stories of haunted houses and
of loved ones communicating with
their departed dead. They report men
and women being taken captive by
visitors from outer space. Television
has captured the minds of young and
old alike with programs glamorizing
the supernatural. There are movies
that deal more specifically with the
occult, as Hollywood productions
bring millions of people to movie
theaters. For many years the media,
influenced by Satan, has bombarded
the minds of children with supernatural phenomena. Spiritualism is as
old as the devil himself. As far as the
world is concerned, it goes back to
the Garden of Eden when Sa tan spoke
to Eve through the spiritualistic
medium.
- Modern spiritualism had its beginnings in the manifestations that
began with the Fox family in
Hydesville, New York, in 1848.
Shortly thereafter the Fox family
moved to Rochester, New York, and
beca use the knockings became
manifest there, they came to be
known as the "Rochester Knockings."
Such manifestations have increased
and spread until now there are
rapping, writing, speaking, and healing mediums in every part of the

4 Our Firm Foundation August, 1986

world. In the United States and

England millions of people believe in
supernatural phenomena. Every candid man who has had a fair chance to
witness the progress of spiritualism in
the media is compelled to acknowledge that it must be the work of invisible spirits that have both power
and more than human intelligence.
Even the scientific world has
taken up the investigation of spiritism. It can no longer be treated with
silent contempt. Until recently,

Those who embrace

spiritualism, in
essence, have to give
up the Bibleboth cannot be true

science ignored the alleged phenomenon of spiritualism. But now a

noteworthy change has come as
psychic and ESP researchers delve
into the secrets of the invisible world.
The Bible positively forbids communication with familiar spirits.
"When thou art come into the land
which the Lord thy God giveth thee,

1\

thou shalt not learn to do after the

abominations of those nations. There
shall not be found among you any
one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that
useth divination, or an observer of
times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or
a charmer, or a consulter with
familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a
necromancer. For all that do these
things are an abomination' unto the
Lord." (Deuteronomy 18:9-12) Webster
gives the definition of "necromancy"
as pretended communica tions with
the dead. And spiritualists everywhere claim that spiritual 'communications are from the spirits of
the "dead."
"Regard not them that have
familiar spirits, neither seek after
wizards, to be defiled by them: I am
the Lord your God." Leviticus 19:31
Spiritualists do not deny that they
are "calling on the dead." The Bible
refers to them as charmers, enchanters, sorcerers and practicers of
witchcraft and necromancy. It speaks
specifically against divinations and
consultation with the familiar spirits
declaring them to be an abomination.
Such practices are strictly forbidden
in both the Old and the New Testaments. (See 2 Kings 21:2-6, 9, 11;
Revelation 21:8) Those who embrace
spiritualism, in essence, have to give
up the Bible-both cannot be true.
What people see in seances are not
spirits of the dead. In ancient times

when people supposed they were sacrificing to the dead, it was positively
declared that they were sacrificing
unto devils. (1 Corinthians 10:20;
Psalm 106:27, 28) The dead have no
knowledge of things done in the
world, says Job. "His to
honor and he knoweth it not; and
they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them." (Job 14:21)
"His breath goeth forth; he returneth
to his earth; in that very day his
thoughts perish." (Psalm 146:4) "The
living know that they shall die: but
the dead know not anything, neither
have they any more a reward; for the
memory of them is forgotten. Also
their love, and their hatred, and their
envy, is now perished; neither have
they any more a portion for ever in
any thing that is done under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6

Any just and perfect

being is Christ, they
say

In I Timoth-y 4:1, we read, "Giving

heed to seducing spirits, .and
doctrines of devils." Revelation 16:14
adds: "For they are the spirits of
devils, working miracles, which go
forth unto the kings of the earth and
of the whole world, to gather them to
the battle of that great day of God
Almighty."
"By their fruits ye shall know
them" the Bible says. What is the
fruitage of the spirit's teachings?
They teach and strive to lead men
and women to loosen the bonds of
conscience particularly in respect to
the sacredness of marriage. Many
people today consult their "guardian
spirits" with much more trust and
confidence than they would a kind
and experienced parent, and willingly
yield to their suggestions and directions in matters both great and small.
But to do so is not safe. The Scripture
describes the deceptive character of
these evil spirits and calls them
seducing spirits, speaking lies and
hypocrisy, deceivers, lying wonders.
See 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:13;
2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10
Though some spiritualists may
honestly believe otherwise, the devil
is their god and their father. "Ye are

of your father the devil, and the lusts

of your father ye will do. He was a
murderer from the beginning, and
abode not in the truth, because there
is no truth in him. When he speaketh
a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is
liar, and the father of it." (John 8:44)
Humans are so constituted that they
worship any being or power that they
regard as superior to themselves.
When spiritualists refuse allegiance to
God and the Bible, it is not surprising
that they choose Satan as their god
and father. History shows that such
has always been the case.
Concerning demon worship in the
early Christian world, it is the
universal sentiment both of the
church and of heretics that demons
were the authors, patrons, and objects
of idolatry. Those rebellious spirits
who had been degraded from the
rank of angels and cast down into the
infernal pit were still permitted to
roam upon the earth and torment the
bodies and seduce the minds of sinful
beings. Demons discovered and
abused the natural propensities of the
human heart towards devotion, and
artfully withdrew the adorations of
humanity from the Creator. They
usurped the place of honor that
belongs to the supreme Deity. By the
success through the ages of their
malicious contrivance, the forces of
Satan not only have gratified their
own sense of vanity and revenge; but
have obtained the only comfort they
were able to find-the hope of involving the human race in their guilt and
misery.
As demons acknowledge Satan to
be their god and father, we should
naturally expect that when they pray
through people they would pray to
Satan. The spiritualist's prayer is
called an invocation and this, of
course, means nothing other than invoking Satan who is called the prince
of the power of the air. (Ephesians
2:2) No doubt Satan inspires the
prayers to himself, for he wants to set
himself up as god in the world.
The apostle Peter tells us that
"God spared not the angels that
sinned, but cast them down to hell,
and delivered them into chains of
darkness." 2 Peter 2:4
What meaning do spiritualists give
the word Christ? To them it is not, as
generally supposed, the Son, t!te Creator of all things. Any just and perfect
being is Christ, they say. But we read
in Romans 1:21-23, 25: "Because that,
when they knew God, they glorified
Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was
darkened. Professing themselves to be

wise, they became fools, and changed

the glory of the uncorruptible God
into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things."

Spiritualists take the

side of the devil every
time

"Who changed the truth of God

into a lie, and worshiped and served
the creature more than the Creator,
who is blessed forever. Amen."
(Romans 1:21-23, 25) About 6,000
years ago Satan, the father of lies,
said, "Ye shall be as gods." And now
we see spiritualists preaching the
same old lie. They take the side of the
devil every time. They despise the
Bible. Almost the first thing that
spirits do with their converts is to
destroy their confidence in the Bible.
Why is this? Evidently because the
Bible so fully cautions and warns
against Satan's last-day deceptions.
Because the Bible is against the
spirits, the spirits are against the
Bible. One spirit is reported to have
said the Book of Genesis is the skin
of the old serpent. There are 300 lies
in this book alone, it claimed.
Some claim that spiritualism is a
better guide for human conduct than
the Bible. But it is a strange guide,
one that inevitably points towards destruction.
Spiritualists Are At War With Marriage
Spiritualists openly war against the
marriage institution and advocate the
doctrine of free love. I quote from a
known spiri tualist on "Marriage and
Religion": "The present laws of marriage that now give birth to regrets
and sorrows unnumbered, to prostitution with its long train of curses and
agonies will be abandoned for a
holier, purer, diviner revelation that
is to be given to the people. A religion
more spiritual will be discovered and
acknowledged, resting upon no certain outside standard of rectitude,
upon no dogma of another, no purity
of earthly life, no glory for earthly
perfection. This religion is simply
desire. With everyone desire is spontaneous and sincere, pure and holy.

August, 1986 Ollr Firm FOllndation 5

No matter what the desire is, whether

it be called good or bad, it is natural
God-gi ven religion of the soul."
Taken from Dr. Child's book, Christ
and the People, 27, 29.
Spiritualism has much to say about
the beauties of its "sublime philosophy" and loudly rants against the
Bible as containing absurd and
ridiculous things. We should suppose
from the way its advocates talk that
the visions and doctrines of spiritualism were a perfect model of dignity and sublimity. But let us judge
them by their fruits.
A London paper reports that according to prophecy there is soon to
be a perfect avalanche of spirit
manifestations-one of the most astounding influxes the world has ever
known. Modern spiritualism may assume a different guise, but it is still
identical to ancient heathenism.
There are strange inconsistenciesspiritualists reject the Bible as unworthy of confidence because they say it
is contradictory and then blindly
cling to a system composed of absurdties and contradictions, which are
beyond all description. They declare
the God of the Bible to be unjust because in His general judgments He
destroyed infants, but they exalt the
god of nature manifested in the fury
of tornadoes, earthquakes, pestilences
and famines that has swept away millions of innocent mothers and infants.

Through spiritualistic
phenomena the devil
is working to prepare
the world for his
masterpiece
Spiritualists openly advocate and
practice abominations and fellowship
with those who teach immoralities
openly and boldly. They ridicule the
idea of a Creator who can raise the
dead and yet teach that the human
soul is composed of particles like
condensed steam and that it resurrects itself. They warn against the
Bible as though it would be fatal to
our eternal interests to follow it and
yet admit that even those who do so
will share the progressive spheres
after death. If spiritualism is true, we
are just as well off as they, but, if the
Bible is true, they are lost. By their
own judgment, we have a double

6 Our Firm Foundation August, 1986

assurance. If there be doubt in what

we believe, which we do not admit,
we are on the safe side of that doubt.
Yet every Bible believer clings to a
sure foundation.
Spiritualism is nothing other than
the greatest tool in the hands of
Satan. He has deceived much of the
Christian world with the doctrine
that humans never die but go to hell
or heaven at death. Half the world is
pagan and there too he has deceived
most pagans with the same great lie,
that humans never. die but go on
living in another state or sphere. To
the heathen, the spirits are just people
who ha ve found a new state of existence and now restlessly roam the
earth.
Satan's Crowning Deceptions
Through the mass media Satan has
prepared the world for his master
deception, his crowning act in the last
drama of the ages. Just before the
curtain comes down on the final act,
Satan will try to personate the coming
of Christ. Although God will not
permit him to perfectly counterfeit
the second coming in the clouds of
heaven, Satan is a master planner and
nearly three hundred years ago began
laying the foundation of his final
master deception with the doctrine of
futurism introduced at the Council of
Trent. Francisco Ribera, a Jesuit, was
the architect.
Later, toward the beginning of the
nineteenth century, Irving and Darby
adopted this decepti ve teaching and
called it the new dispensationalism or
British Israelism. Scofield multiplied
it on the North American continent
by incorporating it in his Bible. This
false teaching now is known as the
secret rapture. It teaches one thing
basically-tha t Jesus comes to
Jerusalem and reigns on David's
throne in Jerusalem for 1,000 years
and that the tribulation comes after
the rapture.
It is through spiritualistic phenomena that the devil is working now
to prepare the world for his masterpiece. He has always wanted to be
God. (See Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14)
By this use of spiritualistic phenomena he may sweep into Jerusalem
with his hosts of angels in UFOs,
declaring that he is the Christ
returned. Paul declares he will transform himself into an angel of light.
See 2 Corinthians 11:14; The Great
COlltroversy, 557, 624; Testimollies to
Millisters, 62, 411
At this point the world will be in
its worst crisis. To fulfill the predictions found in the book of Rev-

elation, I see the possiblility of war in

the Middle East with the Master
Spiritualist masquerading as the King
of kings stepping in to bring world
peace. Then the whole world (nearly)
will wonder after him.
Let us remember the beast in Bible
prophecy primarily represents the
devil, and secondly the agencies
through which he works to accomplish his master plan.

Our surety is in the

written word. Only
the "It is written" of
God can keep us from
Satan's snares
Ellen White vividly portrays the
day in which we are now living:
"It was by the display of supernatural power, in making the serpent
his medium, that Satan caused the
fall of Adam and Eve in Eden. Before
the close of time he will work still
greater wonders. So far as his power
extends, he will perform actual
miracles. Says the Scripture: 'He. . . .
deceiveth them that dwell on the
earth by the means of those miracles
which he had power to do,' not
merely those which he pretends to do.
Something more than mere impostures
is brought to view in this Scripture.
But there is a limit beyond which
Satan cannot go, and here he calls
deception to his aid and counterfeits
the work which he has not power actually to perform. In the last days he
will appear in such a manner as to
make men believe him to be Christ
come the second time into the world.
He will indeed transform himself into
an angel of light. But while he will
bear the appearance of Christ in
every particular, so far as mere appearance goes, it will deceive none
but those who, like Pharaoh, are seeking to resist the truth." Testimollies,
vol. 5,698
In the closing scenes of this
world's history we can only depend
upon the Bible and the Spirit of
Prophecy and walking with Jesus
moment by moment to keep us from
being deceived. Our surety is in the
written word. Satan's deception will
be so convincing that we will not be
able to trust our senses; only the "It is
written" of God can keep us from his
snares.
g

i________________________-i
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A Right Perspective
There are Christians who think and speak
altogether too n1uch about the power of Satan.
They think of their adversary, .
they pray about him, they talk about him,
and he looms up greater and greater
in their imagination.
It is true that Satan is a powerful being;
but, thank God, we have a Inighty Saviour,
who cast out the evil one fron1 heaven.
Satan is pleased when we magnify his power.
Why not talk of Jesus?
Why not magnify His power and His love?
The rainbow of promise encircling
the throne on high is an
everlasting testimony that "God so loved the world,
that He gave His only-begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,
but have everlasting life."
It testifies to the universe that God
will never forsake His people
in their struggle with evil.
It is an assurance to us of strength and protection
as long as the throne itself shall endure.

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The Desire oj Ages, 493

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August, 1986 Oil,. Firm Foundalion 7

teOts ifygrrs
T raging
HE TIME is 1904. A conflict is
between Ellen White and
Dr. J. H. Kellogg. A 568-page book
issued the year before titled The
Living Temple by Dr. Kellogg is the
subject of concern. Listen to Mrs.
White's words:
"The battle is on. Satan and his
angels are working with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. They are
untiring in their efforts to draw souls
away from the truth, away from righteousness, to spread ruin throughout
the universe. They work with marvelous industry to furnish a multitude
of deceptions to take souls captive.
Their efforts are unceasing. The enemy is ever seeking to lead souls into
infidelity and skepticism. He would
do away with God, and with Christ,
who was made flesh and dwelt among
us to teach us that in obedience to
God's will we may be victorious over
sin.
"Every form of evil is waiting for
an opportunity to assail us. Flattery,
bribes, inducements, promises of wonderful exaltation, will be most assiduously employed....

8 Our Firm Foundation August. 1986

"Satan and his angels are making

every effort to obtain control of
minds, that men may be swayed by
falsehood and pleasing fa bles....
"The sentiments of the enemy are
being scattered everywhere. Seeds of
discord, of unbelief, of infidelity, are
being sown broadcast.
"The dangers coming upon us are
continually increasing. It is high time
that we put on the whole armor of
God, and work earnestly to keep
Satan from gaining any further
advantage. Angels of God, that excel
in strength, are waiting for us to call
them to our aid, that our faith may
not be eclipsed by the fierceness of
the conflict. Renewed energy is now
needed. Vigilant action is called for.
Indifference and sloth will result in
the loss of personal religion and of
heaven.
"At this time the Laodicean mes,sage is to be given, to arouse a slumbering church. Let the thought of the
shortness of time stimulate you to
earnest, untiring effort. Remember
that Satan has come down with great
power, to work with all deceivable-

ness of unrighteousness in them that

perish....
"Be not deceived; many will depart
from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. We
ha ve now before us the alpha of this
danger. The omega will be of a most
startling nature.
"I am instructed to speak plainly.
'Meet it,' is the word spoken to me.
'Meet it firmly, and without delay.'
But it is not to be met by our taking
our working forces from the field to
investigate doctrines and points of
difference. We have no such investigation to make. In the book The
Living Temple there is presented the
alpha of deadly heresies. The omega
will follow, and will be received by
those who are not willing to heed the
warning God has given." Selected
Messages, Book 1, 194-200; see also
Testimonies, vol. 8, 255-318; The Ministry 0/ Healing, 427-438
Eighty-two years have passed.
Pantheism, the error in The Living
Temple was identified as the Alpha of
deadly heresies, spiritualistic in nature and influence. Has the Omega

appeared? Will we recognize it when

it comes? Various speculations have
been made and conjectures given as
to what the Omega is or will be. It is
possible that the Omega will have to
do with the medical profession(s) as
the Alpha did. Will the joining of the
hands of medical science, mental
science, and religion result in the
Omega? Could it be that the "three
unclean spirits, like devils" of
Revelation 13 are not only political
and theological, but are also medical
and psychological? Remember the
warning, "the omega will be of a
most startling na ture."
What is coming, if it isn't already
here, is the refinement of spiritualism. I see it developing steadily
and insidiously. And it appears that
Christians, even Seventh-day
Adventists, are drifting into the net.
Unfortunately, Adventists are not so
concerned about spiritualism as they
once were. We used to hear a great
deal about it, but I am a ware of only
a few voices now raised to expose
spiritualism in its various forms.
I was speaking to a group of
charismatic women and mentioned
spiritualism. Not one of the group
knew what I was talking about. And
when dealing with Adventists, it
seems many are aware only that it has
to do with evil spirits impersonating
the dead. I am finding that
knowledge of the doctrines of
spiritualism is almost totally lacking
in many of my audiences.
In order to recognize the tenets of
spiritualism, there are a few basic
concepts we must be aware of: I)
Spiritualism is Satan's own religion,
with doctrines, worship, rituals, and
hymns. 2) Satan is adept at using the
media to promulgate his doctrines to
the extent that people are accepting
"doctrines of devils." 3) Spiritualism
is a counterfeit of the truth as it is in
Scripture. (Testimonies to Ministers,
365) A counterfeit is so like the
genuine that only those who know the
genuine can distinguish it from the
true. I have been amazed at the specific teachings of spiritualism as they
parallel the teachings of the Bible
and the Spirit of Prophecy. 4) Satan
has long been preparing for his final'
effort to deceive the world. Little by
little he has prepared the way for his
masterpiece of deception in the development of spiritualism. He has not
yet reached the fuB accomplishment
of his designs, but it wiB be reached
in the last remnant of time.
We need to be aware of the doctrines of spiritualism in order to recognize it before its subtleties ensnare
our thinking. The Spirit of Prophecy
provides detailed information of the
teachings of spiritualism; it behooves

us to beware. Note the following,

doctrines, and the comments on them
by Ellen White:
I) Man naturally possesses immortality. The Great Controversy,
55 I; Evangelism, 603, 608
2) Christ is not a divine Being.
Patriarchs and Prophets, 686; The
Great Controversy, 524
3) Satan has no existence as a personal being. The Great Controversy,
516
4) Prayer is not essential. Testimonies, vol. I, 295, 296; The Great
Controversy, 525
5) The Bible is erroneous or unreliable. Acts of the Apostles 474;
The Desire of Ages, 258; The Great
Controversy, 595
6) God is an essence pervading
na ture-the doctrine of pan theism.
Evangelism 601; The Ministry of
Healing, 428
7) Man is accountable only to selfwhich is will worship. The Great
Controversy, 555
8) Desire is the highest law,
Evangelism, 608
9) Man is a creature of progression.
. The Great Controversy, 554

minds of thousands have thus been

poisoned and led into infidelity.
"While it is believed that one
human mind so wonderfully affects
another, Satan, who is ready to press
every advantage, insinuates himself
and works on the right hand and on
the left. And while those who are
devoted to these sciences laud them to
the heavens because of the great and
good works which they affirm are
wrought by them, they little know
what a power for evil they are cherishing; but it is a power which will
yet work with all signs and lying
wonders-with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness. Mark the influence
of these sciences, dear reader, for the
conflict between Christ and Satan 'is
not yet ended.
"Through these sciences, virtue is
destroyed and the foundations of
spiritualism are laid." Mind, Character, and Personality, 19, 20
We are 100 years closer to that
time than when these words were
written. Few Adventists seem aware
that in today's world specific movements are very subtly and insidiously
promotin g spiritualism. Generall y

ltf rw Aburutists srrm awarr t17at iu tnbay's

urnrIb Zp reifie mnurmrutz arr urry subtly aub
iusibinusly prnmntiug spiritualism
Can we calculate the number of
people in the world who believe and
teach spiritualistic doctrines? First,
the belief in the immortality of the
soul is embraced by most Protestants,
Catholics, and non-Christian religions
i(eastern, heathen, and pagan). Add to
,this group evolutionists who teach
progression, identified as a doctrine
of spiritualism (The Great Controversy,
554, 555), and those who teach transmigration of the soul and reincarnation. It does not require a statistician to compute that the number includes almost the entire population of
the globe.
It should be noted here how the
foundations of spiritualism are laid
in Western society.
"This entering in of Satan through
the sciences is weB devised. Through
the channel of phrenology, psychology, and mesmerism, he comes more
directly to the people of this generation and works with that power
which is to characterize his efforts
near the close of probation. The

speaking, Adventists tend not to he

students of modern psychology, although this is rapidly changing. When
I point out the dangers of the mind
sciences laying the foundation for
spiritualism, the response is almost
always "But even Sister White says
'they are good in their place.' "
"Their place" seems to be everywhere, and almost anything printed
as psychology is accepted as safe and
sound.
Most denominational schools have
departments of psychology, some under the title of behavioral science.
Teachers who were originaBy hired to
fill these departments had to receive
their degrees from secular or nonSeven th-da y Ad ven tist universities,
because we have only recently been
able to offer degrees in these fields. I
believe it only natural for one to
teach what he/she has been taught, so
I am extremely apprehensive that
spurious information may be disseminated right within Seventh-day Adventist colleges. I have been told by

August, 1986 Our Firm Foundation 9

heads of psychology departments that

neither the Bible nor the Spirit of
Prophecy can be depended upon for
information in psychology. This is in
spite of the specific statement that
"the true principles of psychology are
found in the Holy Scriptures." (My
Life Today, 176) None of these statements are meant to be critical, but instead to voice a real concern that we
not be deceived.
"He [Satan] is sweeping the world
into his ranks, and the few who are
faithful to God's requirements are the
only ones who can ever withstand
him, and even these he is trying to
overcome. Go to God for yourselves,
pray for divine enlightenment, that
you may know that you do know
what is truth, that when the wonderful miracle-working power of Satan
shall be displayed, and the enemy
shall come as an angel of light, you
may distinguish between the genuine
work of God and the imitative work
of the power of darkness." Review and
Herald, December 24, 1889
The mind sciences of the present
ha ve their roots in mesmerism, a term
derived from its propounder, a Ger-

errors that are finding acceptance

among professedly Christian people,
none is a more dangerous deception,
none'more certa'in to separate man
from God, than is this. Innocent
though it may appear, if exercised
upon patients, it will tend to their
destruction, not to their restora tion. It
opens a door through which Satan
will enter to take possession both of
the mind that is given up to be controlled by another and of the mind
that controls." Mind, Character, and
Personality, 712, 713
If Satan does indeed control both
the mind that controls and the mind
that is controlled, then one could assume that textbooks coming from the
pens of these founders of modern psychology may be unsafe to read. It is
not difficult to imagine Satan dictating psychological truth mixed with error which in turn is studied by unsuspecting students in every university. You may be sure that whatever Satan passes on to us is spiritualistic in nature. Thus it is not difficult to see that the mind sciences
could lay the foundation for spiritualism.

([qosr wqo UrI' uUrmpiing to trur-q fiJI' tru!'

prinr-iplrs of pzyr-qology arr air-raby f rrhng
tqr opposition unb wraiq of tqr orugon

Me[ange
BobVun

Subject: Radiocarbon Dating

From Science 'News, "New Dates
for 'Early' Tools," May 10, 1986, page
294; "Four bone artifacts thought to
provide evidence for human occupation of North America approximately
30,000 years ago are, at most, only
about 3,000 years old." The article
goes on to admit that from the same
piece of borie, two "significantly"
different dates were obtained by
radiocarbon dating. The first date assigned was 27,000 years. A second test
reduced that to 1,350 years. The ar,tide goes on to admit that "The times
and circumstances surrounding
human colonization of the New World
prior to I J ,500 yea r sag a are
can troversial."
Who could possibly put any
credence in a system that admits to
these kin.ds ofereors?
Subject: Shellfish

man physician named Mesmer (17331815). He put his patients in a trancelike state known now as hypnosis, and'
gained attention both in Europe and
America. Jean-Martin Charcot was his
'student and Sigmund Freud (18561939) studied with Charcot. Freud
and Jung (1875-1961) were co-workers
for a time and both practiced hypnosis which Freud had learned from
Charcot. Freud, Jung, and Charcot
were contemporaneous with Ellen G.
White. This fact seems significant in
that, while she never referred to any
of these individuals by name in her
published works, she did speak emphatically against mesmerism.
It should be emphasized that temporary psychological relief may be
felt through these techniques, but certainly at great risk that the mind may
never again be so strong and reliable,
"The theory of mind controlling
mind was originated by Satan to introduce himself as the chief worker,
to put human philosophy where divine philosophy should be. Of all the
10 Our Firm Foundation 1986

But more than a foundation is in

evidence today. We now have an entire building of spiritualistic doctrine
rising ever higher on the psychological skyline.
Those who arc attempting to teach
the true principles of psychology are
already feeling the opposition and
wrath of the dragon, even within
Adventism.
We have been warned in solemn
words. Will the Omega's "startling
nature" startle us? Will we be among
the hypnotized majority led captive
by the devil? Or will we heed God's
words, and learn to identify Satan's
traps, and sound a warning to those
around us? The choice is ours.
"Spiritualism is about to take the
world captive. There are many who
think that spiritualism is upheld
through trickery and imposture, but
this is far from the truth, Superhuman power is working in a variety
of ways, and few have any idea as to
what will be the manifestations of
spiritualism in the future." Evangelism, 602, 603
III

It was announced Ma.rch 12, 1986,

on National Public Radio that the
New York State Health Commission
has determined, after. a two year
study, that the eating' of shellfish
definitely can cause gastroenteritis
and hepatitis. It seems that there have
been nUmerous cases of both diseases
after eating clams and/or oysters, and
that the cases were scattered over the
entire country. The probable cause is
a viral contamination of the shellfish.
The report went on to note that to
kill the viruses it would be necessary
to boil the shellfish for about five
minutes. Unfortunately, if shellfish
are more than lightly steamed for a
'minute or so, they become too rubbery to eat.
Perhaps the Lord knew what He
was doing when he had all fish missing either gi11s or scales declared unfit for human consumption.

Sholl We Consult
Spiritualist Physicians?
Ellen G, White

"A lattice
HAZIAH FELL down through a
in his upper chamber that
was in Samaria, and was sick: and he
sent messengers, and said unto them,
Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the god of
Ekron whether I shall recover of this
disease. But the angel of the Lord
said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go
up to meet the messengers of the king
of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it
not because there is not a God in
Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt
not come down from that bed on
which thou art gone up, but shall
surely die." [2 Kings 1:2-4]
This narrative most strikingly displays the divine displeasure against
those who turn from God to satanic
agencies. A short time previous to the
events above recorded the kingdom of
Israel had changed rulers. Ahab had
fallen under the judgment of God
and had been succeeded by his son
Ahaziah, a worthless character, who
did only evil in the sight of the Lord,
walking in the ways of his father and
mother, and causing Israel to sin. He
served Baal and worshiped him and
provoked the Lord God of Israel to
anger, as his father Ahab had done.
But judgments followed close upon
the sins of the rebellious king. A war
with Moab, and then the accident by
which his own life was threatened,
attested the wrath of God against
Ahaziah.
How much had the king of Israel
heard and seen in his father's time of
the wondrous works of the Most .High!

What terrible evidence of His severity

and jealousy had God given apostate
IsraelI Of all this, Ahaziah was cognizant; yet he acted as though these
a wful realities, and even the fearful
end of his own father, were only an
idle tale. Instead of humbling his
heart before the Lord he ventured
upon the most daring act of impiety
which marked his life. He commanded his servants: "Go, inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I
shall recover of this disease."
[2 Kings 2:2]

Satan's agents
still claim to cure
disease

The idol of Ekron was supposed to

give information, through the
medium of its priests, concerning future events. It had obtained such
gcneral credence that it was resorted
to by large numbers from a considerable distance. The predictions there
uttered and the information given
proceeded directly from the prince of

darkness. It is Satan who created and

who maintains the worship of idols,
to divert the minds of men from God.
It is by his agency that the kingdom
of darkness and falsehood is supported.
The history of King Ahaziah's sin
and punishment has a lesson of warning which none can disregard with
impunity. Though we do not pay
homage to heathen gods, yet thousands are worshiping at Satan's shrine
as verily as did the king of Israel.
The very spirit of heathen idolatry is
rife today, though under the influence of science and education it
has assumed a more refined and attractive form. Every day adds sorrowful evidence that faith in the sure
word of prophecy is fast decreasing,
and that in its stead superstition and
satanic witchery are captivating the
minds of men. All who do not earnestly search the Scriptures and submit
every desire and purpose of life to
tha t unerring test, all who do not seek
God in prayer for a knowledge of His
will, will surely wander from the
right path and fall under the deception of Sa tan.
The heathen oracles have their
counterpart in the spiritualistic
mediums, the clairvoyants, and fortune tellers of today. The mystic
voices that spoke at Ekron and Endor
are still by their lying words misleading the children of men. The prince
of darkness has but appeared under a
new guise. The mysteries of heathen
worship are replaced by the secret associations and seances, the obscurities and wonders, of the sorcerers of
our time. Their disclosures are eagerly received by thousands who
refuse to accept light from God's
word or from His Spirit. While they
speak with scorn of the magicians of
old, the great deceiver laughs in triumph as they yield to his arts under a
different form.
His agents still claim to cure
disease. They attribute their power to
electricity, magnetism, or the socalled "sympathetic remedies." In
truth, they are but channels for
Satan's electric currents. By this
means he casts his spell over the
bodies and souls of men.
I have from time to time received
letters both from ministers and lay
members of the church, inquiring if I
think it wrong to consult spiritualist
and clairvoyant physicians. I have not
answered these letters for want of
time. But just now the subject is again
urged upon my attention. So numerous are these agents of Satan becoming, and so general is the practice
of seeking counsel from them, that it
seems needful to uttcr words of warning.
August, 1986 O"r Firm FOll/ldalioll II

Angels of God will preserve

His people while they walk
in the path of duty

God has placed it in our power to

obtain a knowledge of the laws of
health. He has made it our duty to
preserve our physical powers in the
best possible condition, that we may
render to Him acceptable service.
Those who refuse to improve the light
and knowledge that has been mercifully placed within their reach are
rejecting one of the means which God
has granted them to promote spiritual
as well as physical life. They are
placing themselves where they will be
exposed to the delusions of Satan.
Not a few in this Christian age
and Christian nation resort to evil
spirits rather than trust to the power
of the living God. The mother, watching by the sickbed of her child, exclaims: "I can do no more. Is there no
physician who has power to restore
my child?" She is told of the wonderS?l cures performed by some clairvoyant or magnetic healer, and she
trusts her dear one to his charge,
placing it as verily in the hands of
Satan as if he were standing by her
side. In many instances the future life
of the child is controlled by a satanic
power which it seems impossible to
break.
Many are unwilling to put forth
the needed effort to obtain a knowledge of the laws of life and the
simple means to be employed for the
restoration of health. They do not
place themselves in right relation to
life. When sickness is the result of
their transgression of law, they do
not seek to correct their errors and
then ask the blessing of God, but they
resort to the physicians. If they recover health they give to drugs and
doctors all the honor. They are ever
ready to idolize human power and
wisdom, seeming to know no other
God than the creature-dust and ashes.
I have heard a mother pleading
with some infidel physician to save
the life of her child; but when I
entreated her to seek help from the
Great Physician who is able to save to
the uttermost all who come unto Him
in faith, she turned away with impatience. Here we see the same spirit
that was manifested by Ahaziah.
12 Our Firm FoundatIOn August. 1986

It is not safe to trust to physicians

who have not the fear of God before
them. Without the influence of divine
grace the hearts of men are "deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked." [Jeremiah 17:9] Self-aggrandizement is their aim. Under the
cover of the medical profession what
iniquities have been concealed, what
delusions supported! The physician
may claim to possess great wisdom
and marvelous skill, when his character is abandoned and his practice contrary to the laws of life. The Lord
our God assures us that He is waiting
to be gracious; He invites us to call
upon Him in the day of trouble. How
can we turn from Him to trust in an
arm of flesh?
Go with me to yonder sickroom.
There lies a husband and father, a
man who is a blessing to society and
to the cause of God. He has been suddenly stricken down by disease. The
fire of fever seems consuming him.
He longs for pure water to moisten
the parched lips, to quench the raging
thirst, and cool the fevered brow. But,
no; the doctor has forbidden water.
The stimulus of strong drink is given
and adds fuel to the fire. The blessed,
heaven-sent water, skillfully applied,
would quench the devouring flame;
but it is set aside for poisonous drugs.
For a time nature wrestles for her
rights; but at last, overcome, she gives
up the contest, and death sets the sufferer free. God desired that man to
live, to be a blessing to the world;
Satan determined to destroy him, and
through the agency of the physician
he succeeded. How long shall we permit our most precious lights to be
thus extinguished?
Ahaziah sent his servants to inquire of Baal-zebub, at Ekron; but instead of a message from the idol, he
heard the awful denunciation from
the God of Israel: "Thou shalt not
come down from that bed on which
thou art gone up, but shalt surely
die." It was Christ that bade Elijah
speak these words to the apostate
king. Jehovah Immanuel had cause to
be greatly displeased at Ahaziah's
impiety. What had Christ not done to

win the hearts of sinncrs and to inspire them with unwavering confidence in Himself? For ages He had
visited His people with manifestations of the most condescending
kindness and unexampled love. From
the times of the patriarchs He had
shown how His "delights were with
the sons of men." [Proverbs 8:31] He
had been a very present help to all
who sought Him in sincerity. "In all
their affliction He was afflicted, and
the angel of His presence saved them:
in His love and in His pity He
redeemed them." [Isaiah 63:9] Yet Israel had revolted from God and
turned for help to the Lord's worst
enemy.
The Hebrews were the only nation
fa vored with a knowledge of the true
God. When the king of Israel sent to
inquire of a pagan oracle, he proclaimed to the heathen that he had
more confidence in their idols than in
the God of his people, the Creator of
the heavens and the earth. In the
same manner do those who profess to.
have a knowledge of God's word dishonor Him when they turn from the
Source of strength and wisdom to ask
help or counsel from the powers of
darkness. If God's wrath was kindled
by such a course on the part of a
wicked, idolatrous king, how can He
regard a similar course pursued by
those who profess to be His servants?
Why is it that men are so unwilling
to trust Him who created man, and
who can by a touch, a word, a look,
heal all manner of disease? Who is
more worthy of our confidence than
the One who made so great a sacrifice
for redemption? Our Lord has given
us definite instruction through the
apostle James as to our duty in case
of sickness. When human help fails,
God will be the helper of His people.
"Is any sick among you? let him call
for the elders of the church; and let
them pray over him, anointing him
with oil in the name of the Lord: and
the prayer of faith shall save the
sick, and the Lord shall raise him
up." [James 5:14, 15] If the professed
followers of Christ would, with purity of heart, exercise as much faith

, , ,but there is no assurance of

such protection for those who
deliberately venture upon
Satan's ground
in the promises of God as they repose
in satanic agencies, they would realize in soul and body the life-giving
power of the Holy Spirit.
God has granted to this people
great light, yet we are not placed
beyond the reach of temptation. Who
among us are seeking help from the
gods of Ekron? Look on this picturenot drawn from imagination. In how
many, even among Seventh-day
Adventists, may its leading characteristics be seen? An invalid-apparently very conscientious, yet bigoted and self-sufficient-freely a vows
his contempt for the laws of health
and life, which divine mer9 has led
us as a people to accept. His food
must be prepared in a manner to
satisfy his morbid cravings. Rather
than sit at a table where wholesome
food is provided, he will patronize
restaurants, because he can there indulge appetite without restraint. A
fluent advocate of temperance, he
disregards its foundation principles.
He wants relief, but refuses to obtain
it at the price of self-denial. That
man is worshiping at the shrine of
perverted appetite. He is an idolater.
The powers which, sanctified and ennobled, might be employed to honor
God, are weakened and rendered of
little service. An irritable temper, a
confused brain, and unstrung nerves
are among the results of his disregard
of nature's laws. He is inefficient,
unreliable.
Whoever has the courage and honesty to warn him of danger thereby
incurs his displeasure. The slightest
remonstrance or opposition is sufficient to rouse his combative spirit.
But now an opportunity is presented
to seek help from one whose power
comes through the medium of witchcraft. To this source he applies with
eagerness, freely expending time and
money in hope of securing the proffered boon. He is deceived, infatuated. The sorcerer's power is made
the theme of praise, and others are
influenced to seek his aid. Thus the
God of Israel is dishonored, while
Satan's power is revered and exalted.
In the name of Christ I would

address His professed followers:

.Abide in the faith which you have
received from the beginning. Shun
profane and vain babblings. Instead
of putting your trust in witchcraft,
have faith in the living God. Cursed
is the path that leads to Endor or to
Ekron. The feet will stumble and fall
that venture upon the forbidden
ground. There is a God in Israel, with
whom is deliverance for all that are
oppressed. Righ teousness is the ha bitation of His throne.
There is danger in departing in the
least from the Lord's instruction.
When we deviate from the plain path
of duty, a train of circumstances will
arise that seems irresistible to draw
us further and further from the right.
"Needless intimacies with those who
have no respect for God will seduce
us ere we are aware. Fear to offend
worldly friends will deter us from
expressing our gratitude to God or
acknowledging our dependence upon
Him. We must keep close to the word
of God. We need its warnings and encouragement, its threatenings and
promises. We need the perfect example given only in the life and
character of our Sa viour.
Angels of God will preserve His
people while they walk in the path of
duty, but there is no assurance of
such protection for those who deliberately venture upon Satan's
ground. An agent of the great deceiver will say and do anything to
gain his object. It matters little
whether he calls himself a spiritualist, an "electric physician," or a
"magnetic healer." By specious pretenses he wins the confidence of the
unwary. He pretends to read the life
history and to understand all the difficulties and afflictions of those who
resort to him. Disguising himself as
an angel of light, while the blackness
of the pit is in his heart, he manifests
great interest in women who seek his
counsel. He tells them that all their
troubles are due to an unhappy marriage. This may be too true, but such
a counselor does not better their condition. He tells them that they need
love and sympathy. Pretending great

interest in their welfare, he casts a

spell over his unsuspecting victims,
charming them as the serpent charms
the trembling bird. Soon they are completely in his power; sin, disgrace,
and ruin are the terrible sequel.
These workers of iniquity are not
few. Their path is marked by desolate
homes, blasted reputations, and broken hearts. But of all this the world
knows little; still they go on making
fresh victims, and Satan exults in the
ruin he has wrought.
The visible and the invisible world
are in close contact. Could the veil be
lifted, we would see evil angels pressing their darkness around us and
working with all their power to deceive and destroy. Wicked men are
surrounded, influenced, and aided by
evil spirits. The man of faith and
prayer has yielded his soul to divine
guidance, and angels of God bring to
him light and strength from heaven.
No man can serve two masters.
Light and darkness are no more opposites than are the service of God
and the service of Satan. The prophet
Elijah presented the matter in the
true light when he fearlessly appealed
to apostate Israel: "If the Lord be
God, follow Him: but if Baal, then
follow him." [I King 18:21]
Those who give themselves up to
the sorcery of Satan may boast of
great benefit received thereby, but
does this prove their course to be wise
or safe? What if life should be prolonged? What if temporal gain should
be secured? Will it pay in the end to
disregard the will of God? All such
apparent gain will prove at last an irrecoverable loss. We cannot with impunity break down a single barrier
which God has erected to guard His
people from Satan's power.
Our only safety is in preserving
the ancient landmarks. "To the law
and to the testimony: if they speak
not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."
[Isaiah 8:20]
iii
Testimonies, vol. 5,191-197

August, 1986 Ollr Firm FOlllldal101I 13

"Spiritualism, which numbers its

converts by hundreds of thousands,
yea, by millions, which has made its
way into scientific circles, which has
invaded churches, and has found
favor in legislative bodies, and even
in the courts of kings-this mammoth
deception is but a revival, in a new
disguise, of the witchcraft condemned and prohibited of old.,,1
Today? Really?

The New

Spiritualism
AT AN HAS long been preparing
S for
his final effort to deceive the

world. In numerical terms he will to a

great extent prove successful, for
nearly the entire world population
(now exceeding five billion) will fall
into his fatal deception. Except for
those few who trust and follow the
word of God explicitly, all-men,
women, and children alike-will accept the teachings of "seducing
spirits and doctrines of devils."
1 Timothy 4:1
Looking back at past ages it is not
difficult to distinguish witchcraft
and demon worship from the truth of
God. But the subtlety of Satan's final
deceptions is almost beyond imagination. Yet God has not left us defenselcss. Spiritualism's basic doctrines are
clearly spelled out for us. These have

never changed, except for the manner

in which they are presented. You can
locate them in The Great Controversy,
552-562.
Here's a quick review: Man is
progressing toward godhead; he is
naturally immortal; Christ was not
God, yet man is an unfallen demigod;
"Judgment is of self," and self is the
source of all things, so naturally
"Whatever is, is right"; knowledge
places man above all law, but no
matter-God does not condemn under
any circumstance for "all sins committed are innocent"; and finally, any
just and perfect being (which means
everyone, since all are innocent) is
ChI ist.
How could Satan get any rational
person to follow such contradictory
gibberish? The answer is "power."

Yes, witchcraft, devil worship,

snake charming, necromancy, mysticism, fortune telling, and even witch
doctors, are with us still in today's
society, but they now possess a new
.credibility, an air of sophisticationand a new guise.
The greatest bulwark of the occult
in Western culture today is not the
fanatic fringe, but the mushrooming
number of "respectable people" being
influenced by corporate success seminars and the greed-tainted "religion"
of a newly emerged class of "prosperity prophets."
Modern man, full of wisdom, is
seeking ways to improve himself, and
the devil has a host of "human
potential," "positive thinking," and
"success seminar" books and tapes to
Jill the void. There are literally
hundreds of these programs for the
business man, housewife, professor,
and the kindergarten/preschool tot.
This so-called self -improvement
was brought to the world by the devil
through Napoleon Hill. Think and
GrolV Rich, is the title of his wellknown book in which he discloses the
"supreme secret." The secret itself is
of interest, but first, let's take a moment to hear how he came by this
knowledge. A simple "visualization"
exercise led to the formation of Hill's
"imaginary" group of "Counselors."
He says:
"These nine men were Emerson,
Paine, Edison, Darwin, Lincoln,
Burbank, Napoleon, Ford, and
Carnegie. Every night. . . I held an
imaginary council meeting with this
group whom I called my 'Invisible
Counselors.'...
"After some months of this nightly
procedure, I was astounded by the dis.covery that these imaginary figures
became apparently real. ...
"These meetings became so realistic that I became fearful of their consequences, and discontinued them for
several months. The experiences were
so uncanny, I was afraid if I con-.
tinued them I would lose sight of the
fact that the meetings were purely
experiences of my imagination.',2
Imagination, he said. But he said

------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!J Vincent Cherry I!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-----14 Our Firm Foundation August, 19&6

more. "In my studies I discovered

there is a group of strange beings who
maintain a school of wisdom....
"The School has Masters who can
disembody themselves and travel in-'
stantly to any place they choose.... I
knew that one of these Masters had
come across thousands of miles,
through the night, into my study....
" 'You have earned the right to
reveal a Supreme Secret to others,'
said the vibrant voice. 'You have
been under the guidance of the Great
School. . . . Now you must give the
world a blueprint.' ,,3
From such a source we might expect any blasphemy, any outrageous
lie. But what was the blueprint, the
supreme secret? "Anything the human
mind can believe, the human mind
can achieve.'"

Silva Mind Control, Positive

Thinking, Hypnosis/Psychology,
Parapsychology, New Age Seminars,
Sufism, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Martial Arts, I Ching,
Yoga, and Visualization/Imaging.
And for every program, for every
"cause," there is someone to play the
role of champion. These names you
may have heard:
Isaac Asimov, Buckminster Fuller,
Zig Zigler, Marilyn Ferguson,
Elizabeth Claire Prophet, Maxwell
Maltz, Adam Smith, Norman Vincent
Peale, Robert Schuller, Kenneth
Copeland, Shirley MacLaine, Dag
Hammerskold, Mother Teresa, and
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (the
Jesuit priest/paleontologist known as
the father of the New Age).

Is That So Bad?

Really, this "secret" .has a POSItIve

ring. It sounds hopeful, some might
even say healthy. But God says the
"heart (mind) is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked, who
can know it?" A very little reflection
on the matter shows that Hill's secret,
whatever it is, it isn't Christian.
Instead, it neatly wraps up the
very essence of spiritualism. If the
power of the human mind (or spirit)
is invincible, what then is death?
What need is there for God? Indeed,
what god could there be but man? If
all men can work "miracles," what is
so special about Jesus Christ?
It is amazing to what extents man
has allowed his "sophistication" to
sink, as he chases fanciful delusions
of grandeur. And the devil is sure to
have a program for every whim. The
list is probably exhaustless, but here
are a few of the most common:

Even Christians have

bought the devil's
line

T. M. (Transcendental Meditation),
Arica, Zen, Psycho-cybernetics, Chris'tian Science, Rolfing, EST (Erhardt
Seminars Training), New Thought,

Spiritualism is about
to take the world
captive

Yes, even Christians have bought

the devil's line. Satan has infiltrated
the Christian world, presenting a
new, enlightened, approach to becoming better people and workers for
God. He has deceived many Christian
leaders and led them to absorb and
propagate his darling deceptions. "As
spiritualism more closely imitates the
nominal Christianity of the day, it
has greater power to deceive and
ensnare."s
Peale writes "Imaging (use of the
mind to produce a material reality)
has been ... implicit in all the speaking and writing I have done.... ,,6
Robert Schuller, of Crystal
Cathedral fame in California, states:
"I believe that the responsibility [of a
minister) in this [New) Age is to
'positivize' religion.... I talk a great
deal to groups that are not positive...
even to what we would call Fundamentalists who deal constantly with
words like sin, salvation, repentance,
and guilt, that sort of thing.
"So when I'm dealing with these
people . . . what we have to do is
positivize the words that have classically only had a negative interpretation.,,7 He also offers this advice:
"The most effective mantras employ

the 'M' sound. [Mantras are Hindu

prayers to demons.} You can get the
feel of it 'by repeating the words, 'I
am, I am,' many times over. . . .
Transcendental Meditation or TM is
not a religion nor is it necessarily
anti-Christian."s Unfortunately, for
both him and all who believe him,
such teaching is nothing short of
soul-destroying error.
With enough material for volumes
of expose let us look to the Word of
truth for our protection. The devil is
out to destroy the very least vestige
of Christ in His people. Church after
church is falling, and has fallen.
The Romim Church, for one, is
honest in admitting its fall from the
truth, (though such admissions are
not widely broadcast). "Confiding
then in the power of Christianity to
resist the infection of evil, and to
transmute the instruments and appendages of demon worship to an
evangelical use . . . the rulers of the
'church were prepared, should occasion arise, to adopt, or initiate, or
sanction the existing rites and customs of the populace." "All of pagan
origin and sanctified by adoption
into the church.',g
As we view these things we must
see that without Christ we will be
deceived and overcome. So powerful
is to be the final delusions that,
"Spiritualism is about to take the
world captive.',l0
Should we fail to keep our eyes on,
Christ we will be ensnared. "All who
neglect the word of God to study
convenience and policy, that they
may not be at variance with the
world, will be left to receive damnable heresy for religious truth.
Every conceivable form of error will
be accepted by those who willfully
reject the truth." You may not reject
the truth, but a failure to study is

God is leading His

people out from the
abominations of the
world

equally dangerous. "Satan well knows

that all whom he can lead to neglect
prayer and the searching of the Scriptures, will be overcome by his

August, 1986

alii"

Firm Fou"datiu" 15

attacks." "All whose faith is not

firmly established upon the word of
God will be deceived and overcome."ll
Observing just a small portion of
the inroads of spiritualism, let none
of us think ourselves secure, in any
position, or connection with any body
of faith.
"Through the agency of evil spirits
strange gods were introduced' and because of transgression, th; chosen
people were finally scattered from
the Land of Promise. This history
Satan is striving to repeat in our day.
God is leading His people out from
the abominations of the world that
they may keep His law. . . . The antitypical land of promise is just
before us, and Satan is determined to
destroy the people of God and cut
them off from their inheritance. The
admonition, 'Watch ye and pray, lest
ye enter into temptation' (Mark
14:38), was never more needed than
now.
"The word of the Lord to ancient
Israel is addressed also to His people
in this age; 'Regard not them that
have familiar spirits, neither seek
after wizards, [not even "positive
wizards"] to be defiled by them;' 'for
all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord.' Leviticus 19:31;
Deuteronomy 18: 12"12
Take time each morning to know
God and His truth. He has promised
it will keep you and make you wise
unto salvation. It will cause you to
"hate every false way." Psalm 119:104
"Because thou hast kept the word
of My patience, I also will keep thee."
Revelation 3:10
III
I.

The Great Controversy, 556

Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich
215, 216 (Fawcett, 1979) emphasis
original
3. Hill, Grow Rich with Peace of Mind,
158, 160) Ballantine Books, 1967)
4. Ibid., 176
5. The Great Controversy, 588
6. Norman Vincent Peale
Positive
Imaging, introduction (Fleming
Revell:
1982)
7. Robert Schuller, address at Unity
Village, Unity tape
8. Schuller, Peace of Mind Through
Possibility Thinking, 131, 132 (Fleming H.
Revell, 1977)
9. Cardinal Newman, Development of
Christian Doctrine, 372
10. Evangelism, 602
II. The Great Controversy, 523, 519, 560
12. Patriarchs and Prophets, 689
2.

H..

16 Our Firm Foundation August, 1986

When modern spiritualism made its

debut in the mid 1800s the Advent
believers saw it as a sign of fulfilling
prophecy. As such. it deserved to be
watched. and watch it they did. The
back page of the July 4, 1854. Review
and Herald carried an account of the
"Address of the National Society for
the Diffusion of Spiritual Knowledge."
It portrays the rapid rise to prominence
which spiritism enjoyed at that time.
and brings to mind-132 years later-the
question. "Could it happen again?"
TO THE Citizens of the United
States: But a few short years ago,
in an obscure locality, and under circumstances which seemed to warrant
the belief in an early termination of
the so-called dream, Spiritualism, in
its present form was born. Its few
advocates, in the early days of its
life, were looked upon as lunaticwere despised for their faith' and
men of respectability and standing in
society could hardly be found who
were willing to examine into the facts
connected with the alleged phenomena, for fear of the reproach of
the entire unbelieving community.
Since that period, Spiritualism has extended with a rapidity unprecedented
in the annals of the world-until
today, it has become a
power in society. Men whose education and whose genius have fitted
them for occupying the highest stations, either in politics ,or in the
church, have sacrificed all positions
of earthly aggrandizement for the
sake of what they believe to be the
enjoyment of high and holy truth.
Connected with that movement today
are many hundreds and thousands of
men who are respected by their neighbors for their integrity and worth-.
esteemed and loved by their friends
for their many amiable qualities. The
subject has arrested the attention of
the learned all over this land, and in
many other lands. It has produced
books, for and against. Many of the
publications on both sides of the
are marked by ability and
strength.
Within the last two years, Spiritualism has increased in strength and

stature with a growth unprecedented

in the history of mental giants. If it
be a lie, there is every prospect of its
enveloping this world, and by its
weight, sinking this world one degree
lower in the depth of degradation. If
it be a lie, it has come in so lovely a
garb that men will seek it unless they
be warned by a strong voice; men will
flee to it as though it were an angel
sent from heaven-will become enveloped in its false light, and will be
borne down to death by the weight of
its false glory. If it be a lie, ye men
of America, who have one thought towards the good of your fellows, it is
your duty to come forward as one
man, to tear the veil from the face of
the lie, and expose it in all its
hideousness. We challenge you as
men--as earnest men, as men desiring
the good of your fellows ......to come
forth and meet us in the fight, expose
our errors, draw the shroud away,
and enable the world to see us as we
are. We challenge you to come and do
that thing.
Citizens of the Unites States! We
feel authority for saying that the day
for raising the cry of humbug, chicanery, delusion, has passed away
forever. You know-all of you who
have reflective minds-that the application of these terms to this subject can no longer produce results; but
that rather these invectives, launched
at your supposed enemies, will rebound upon yourselves, and cover you
with weakness. Your professed teachers, your men in high places, the
learned of your universities, the
eloquent of your pulpits have dealt in
them long enough. And what results
have they achieved? The theories
which the universities sent forth to
account for the alleged phenomena, as
they were pleased to term them, have
not only rendered their authors, but
the universities, ridiculous in the
minds of intelligent men. All the
theories which they reared have
crumbled to the dust, and their
authors cannot shake that dust from
off their clothing.

Science
Falsely
So
Called
Ellell G.
I

N TI-IESE days when skepticism

and infidelity so often appear in
a scientific garb, we need to be
guarded on every hand. Through this
means our great adversary is deceiving thousands, and leading them captive according to his will. The advantage he takes of the sciences, sciences
which pertain to the human mind, is
tremendous. Here, serpent-like, he
imperceptibly creeps in to corrupt the
work of God.
This entering in of Satan through
the sciences is well devised. Through
the channel of phrenology, psychology, and mesmerism, he comes more
directly to the people of this generation, and works with that power
which is to characterize his efforts
near the close of probation. The
minds of thousands have thus been
poisoned, and led into infidelity.
While it is believed that one human
mind so wonderfully affects another,
Satan, who is ready to press every
advantage, insinuates himself, and
works on the right hand and on the
left. And while those who are devoted
to these sciences, laud them to the
heavens because of the great and
good works which they affirm are
wrought by them, they little know
what a power for evil they are
cherishing; but it is a power which
will yet work with all signs and lying
wonders-with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness. Mark the influence
.of these sciences, dear reader; for the

conflict between Christ and Satan is

not yet ended.
If Satan were to make an open and
bold attack upon Christianity, it
would bring the Christian at once to
the feet of his mighty Deliverer, who
alone could put the adversary to
fligh t. He does not generally do this.
He is artful, and knows that the most
effectual way for him to accomplish
his designs is to come to poor, fallen
man in the form of an angel of light.
In this disguise he works upon the

No human influence
or power produced
those miracles

mind to allure from the safe and

right path. He has ever been ambitious to counterfeit the work of
Christ, and establish his own power
and claims. He leads deceived mortals
to account for the works and miracles
of Christ upon scientific principles;
he makes them appear as the result of
human skill and power. In many
minds he will thus eventually destroy

all true faith in Christ as the Messiah,

the Son of God.
Satan worked in a similar manner
when through Moses the power of
God was manifested in Egypt. He
well knew that Moses was chosen of
God to break the yoke of bondage
from off the children of Israel; and
he also knew that in this work Moses
was a type of Christ, who was to
come to break the reign of sin over
the human family and to deliver
those who were captives to its power.
He was aware that when Christ
should appear, mighty works and
miracles would be wrought by Him
that the world might know that the
Father had sent Him. He trembled for
his power. He resolved to accomplish
a work which should answer a
twofold purpose: (I) To destroy the
influence of Moses as the servant of
God, by using his agents to counterfeit the true work of God; (2) To exert an influence by his work through
the magicians which would reach
down through all ages, and in many
minds destroy true faith in the
mighty miracles to be performed by
Christ when He should come to this
world.
It was the power of God, and no
human influence or power possessed
by Moses, that produced those
miracles wrought before Pharaoh.
Those signs and wonders were
designed to convince Pharaoh that the
great "I AM" had sent Moses, and
that it was the duty of the king to let
Israel go that they might serve the
living God. Pharaoh called for the
magicians to work with their
enchantments. They also showed signs
and wonders; for they wrought not by
their own science alone,' but by the
power of their god, the devil, who
through them ingeniously carried out
his deceptive work. Yet even here the
power of God was shown to be superior to that of Satan; for the
magicians were unable to perform all
the miracles which God wrought
through Moses. Only a few of them
could they do. The magicians' rods
did become serpents, but Aaron's rod
swallowed them up. And when they
sought to produce lice, and could not;
they were compelled to acknowledge
even to Pharaoh, "This is the finger'
of God." [Exodus 8:19)
Satan was unwilling to have the
children of Israel released from
bondage that they might serve God.
He wrought through the magicians in
a manner to harden the heart of the
tyrant against the miraculous manifestations of God's power. He also
thought to stagger the faith of Moses
and Aaron in the divine origin of

August, 1986 Ollr Firm FmmdoliOll

17".

their mISSIon, and then his instru.

ments would prevail. But after the
magicians had failed to produce the
plague of lice, they could no more imitate Moses and Aaron. God would
not suffer Satanic deception to
proceed further. His controlling
power cut off the channel through
which Satan worked, and even the instruments through whom Satan
wrought so wonderfully could not
save themselves from the plagues. We
read: "The magicians could not stand
before Moses because of the boils; for
the boil was upon the magicians, and
upon all the Egyptians." [9: II]
When Christ came to earth, Satan
renewed his attack. He came to the
Saviour in the wilderness in the form
of a beautiful young man-more like
a monarch than a fallen angel-with
Scripture in his mouth. Said he, "It is
written." He spread the world before
Christ in the most attract"ive light,
and intimated to Him that He need
not endure so much suffering to gain
its kingdoms; Satan would yield all
his claims if Christ would but worship him.
Satan was dissatisfied iit- heaven
because he could not be first and
highest in command equal with the
Father, exalted above Christ. In the
wilderness he hoped to gain advantage through the weakness and suffering of Christ and obtain from Him
that homage which he could not win
in heaven. Could he have succeeded,
then the plan of salvation would have
failed, and mankind would have been
plunged in hopeless misery. But Jesus
yielded not to the suggestion of the
tempter for a moment; on the contrary, he asserted his superior power
by bidding him, "Get thee hence."
[See Matthew 4:1-11] Satan was
baffled. He then turned his attention
to accomplishing his purpose in
another way, by winning from the
human race that honor which was
refused him in heaven, and by Jesus
on earth; and here he has been only
too successful.
The plan of redemption was not
defeated. The dear price has been
paid for man's ransom. And now our
great adversary seeks to tear away
the foundation of the Christian's
hope, by turning men's minds into
such a channel that they may not be
benefited through the great sacrifice
offered. He leads them to believe that
they can do very well without an
atonement; that they need not depend
upon a crucified and risen Saviour;
that their own merits will entitle
them to God's favor. And then he
destroys confidence in the Bible, well
knowing that if he succeeds here, and

August, 1986

faith in the detector which places a

mark upon himself is destroyed, there
"are no bounds to the victories he may
gain.
If the tempter can so deceive the
human mind as to lead mortals to
think that they possess the inherent
power to perform great and good
works, they cease to rely upon God.
They acknowledge not a superior
power. They give not God the glory
which He claims, and which is due to
His great and excellent Majesty.
Satan's object is thus accomplished;
and he exults that fallen men presumptuously exalt themselves, as he
exalted himself in heaven, and was
cast out. He knows that if they take
this course, their ruin is just as certain as was his own.

Virtue is destroyed
and the foundations
of spiritualism are
laid
Another means by which Satan
seeks to separate the soul from God is
to make man believe that prayer is
but a useless form. He well knows
how needful are meditation and
prayer; and by his devices he would
divert the mind from these important
exercises, that the soul may not lean
"for help upon the Mighty One, and
obtain strength to resist his attacks.
The prayer of faith is the great
strength of the Christian, and will assuredly prevail. This is why Satan insinuates that we have no need of
prayer.
Neglect of prayer leads men to rely
on their own stren"gth, and opens the
,door to temptation. In many cases the
,imagination is captivated by scientific research, and men are flattered
through the consciousness of their
own powers. The sciences which treat
of the human mind are very much
exalted. They are good in their place;
but they are seized upon by Satan as
his powerful agents to deceive and
destroy souls. His arts are accepted as
from heaven, and he thus receives the
worship which suits "him well. The
world, which is supposed to be
benefited so much by phrenology and
animal magnetism, never was so corrupt as now. Through these sciences,
virtue is destroyed, and the foundations of Spiritualism are laid. And

thousands are conversing with, and

receiving instructions from, this
demon-god, and are acting according
to his teachings, all the while supposing that they are obeying the voice of
God through their dead friends.
iii
Signs of the Times, November 6, 1884

EDITORS NOTE: The article printed

above is. of special interest to those"
seeking to understand Ellen White's
counsel on the subject of hypnotism.
The overall tenor of her writings is
consistently unfavorable to hypnosis
(or mesmerism, as it was first named).
From her earliest reference to mesmerism (Early Writings, 21) until the
end of her life, Elien Whit"e's advice"
did not change. "This is the science
that Satan teaches," she wrote in
1905. "We are to resist everything of
the kind. We are not to tamper with
mesmerism and hypnotism." Medical
Ministry, 110, III
As clear as the whole of her counsel would seem to be, questions have
been raised concerning one seemingly
contradictory statement. An 1862
Review and Herald article entitled
"Philosophy and Vain Deceit," later
reprinted in Testimonies, vol. I, 290302, contains the following: "Phrenology and mesmerism are very much"
exalted. They are good in their place,
but they are seized upon by Satan as"
his most powerful agents to deceive
and destroy souls." This single, isolated statement has occasionally been
taken up by those enamored with the
devil's methods as sufficient justification for ignoring the overwhelming clarity of Ellen White's
life-long position.
Fortunately there is no need for
perplexity. In 1884, Sister White reworked her presentation of this
material, drawing heavily from her
earlier article. The result was the article we have printed above. In presenting again what she had previously
written, she said: "The sciences that
treat of the human mind are very
much exalted. They are good in their
place; but they are seized upon by
Satan as his powerful agents to
deceive and destroy souls."
Her intention when writing in
1862 is clear. In saying "they are
good" in their place," she referred to
the broader scope of her article, the
"sciences of the human mind." That
there is a proper manner to deal
human minds is made clear in the article "Mind Cure." That there is a
proper use of "phrenology and
mesmerism," Satan's "most powerful
agents," Ellen White never said.
"II



Angplir illigl1t?
T And-coming
HE CASSETTE tape was free.
from a friend as it
did-there seemed no reason to refuse
it. Besides, it was supposed to be
"really interesting," just the thing for
a good Sabbath afternoon. In these
days of hard-sell, unchristian, mindnumbing propaganda, a person could
well afford to be on the lookout for
interesting spiritual food.
Of course, caution was in order
still, for-sad to say-even within the
Seventh-day Adventist Church there
had been cases of 'subtle heresy. Desmond Ford for example, and it was
rumored that there might be others as
well. One really should be careful in
this sort of thing....
Shortly after finishing a good Sabbath dinner, our imaginary average
Adventist settles himself in a chair,
and the tape begins to play. "Let me

1'I8/>.

Or

Demonic Darkness?

assure you of one thing," the woman's

voice intones, "my husband and I are
good old twenty-three hundred-day,
1844, sanctuary, judgment-hour,
Spirit-of-Prophecy Seventh-day
Adventists."l
A pretty good start, one must
admit, but there's more: "My husband
is a retired Seventh-day Adventist
minister. He has been preaching the
good old three angels' messages now
for forty-two years. He has been a
pastor, a departmental man in the
Sabbath School and Personal Ministries Departments, a chaplain in
several Seventh-day Adventist medical institutions, both in the United
States and in Canada, and we have
been missionaries in Ethiopia.,,2

Dave Fiedlel

Whew! Now that was about as good

a resume as you could ask for. This
tape should be "kosher" for sure. And
so it was that another average Adventist got his first look into a whole
new world. A world peopled not only
by the normal folk he lived with each
day, but by powerful forces as well.
Forces for good and evil, fiercely battling for the supremacy. A world
where knowledge was lifesaving,
where proper technique could mean-all too literally-the difference between life and death.
It was a world of adventure. Each
moment, each movement, was fraught
with eternal results. Fortunately,
there was a source of inspired
instruction-the pastor's wife, the
woman on the tape, was a prophet of
God, a source of encouraging counsel.
No, our average Adventist had nC?t
August, 1986 Ollr Firm FOlll/da/iol/ 19

become ensnared in the mind-twisting

fantasies of "Dungeons and Dragons."
He knew better than to get caught up
in the occult.
Or did he? Perhaps it's time for us
"average Adventists" to take a long
hard look at "spiritual warfare" and
its growing number of prophets.
Did You Say "Prophets"?
Yes, its true. But for readers who
may not be aware of recent developments, perhaps a brief overview is in
order: In the late 1970s a retired Adventist minister and an Adventist
doctor were confronted with cases of
demon possession. In an effort to
properly deal with the problem they
"looked at recent cases where
demonic forces had been successfully
removed. They checked the methods
of these recent cases with the Bible
and the Spirit of Prophecy and
eliminated, to the best 0/ their
knowledge at that time, everything
that did not measure up."s
One might reasonably ask, "Where
did they go looking, that their findings needed to be compared with the
Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy?"
All evidence links this early research
to the writings of "Deliverance
Ministry" authors from a number of
different Protestant denominations.
This fact is significant. The
volume quoted above-although
clearly a defense of their course and
conclusions-points out unmistakably
that these two individuals drew their
original premises of action from a
source which was at least partially in
error. What is more, the author
strongly implies that these two men
initially accepted theories or practices
which they subsequently deemed to
be erroneous.
It is, of course, true that "all have
sinned," and we might say as well
that all have made poor decisions in
the course of their lives. Yet, in a
matter of this importance, one would
do well to carefully scrutinize every
aspect before making a decision as to
its validi ty.
As this new ministry expanded its
scope of activity and influence
within the denomination, a pattern
emerged: beginning with an emphasis
on the "legal aspects" of the grea t
controversy, techniques, systems, and
methodologies were developed to meet
the various situations these men
encountered. Considerable importance
was placed on prayer-especially
prayers of confession and intercession.
Legal Confession
It is very important, of course, that
all sin be confessed and expelled
20 Our Firm Foundation August, 1986

from the life. This tru th is agreed to

by all mature Adventists. "Spiritual
warriors," however, see an extra legal
requirement involved in confession:
"If Christ would move upon what
was recorded from a person's
thoughts, He would be placing Himself on shaky ground. The demonic
forces and the rest of the worlds that
are witnessing the conflict cannot
read our thoughts. That's why Christ
chooses not to move without our confessions being spoken aloud in our
pri va te prayers.,,4
This seemingly whimsical point is
actually a crucial issue. The matter to
be decided is this: When God wishes
to bestow a blessing upon one of His
children, is the recipient's eligibility
dependent solely upon the condition
of his heart, or are there additional
requirements to be met and duties to
be performed?
Please consider carefully. It is true
that certain duties are required of an
individual in order to enter covenant
relation with God. The most obvious
of these might be confession and restitution, but notice that these are not
independent requirements on their
own right which in some way entitle
us to God's blessings. Rather they are
the fruits of a convicted and converted heart. It is the condi tion of the
heart which is accepted of God, no.t
the performance of duty.

It is just such "legal"

technicalities that
form the basis of
"spiritual warfare"

Is speaking aloud likewise a fruit

of true conversion? If not, then it follows that either audible confession is
not a requirement of God, or the bestowal of God's blessings is dependent
to some extent upon our own works.
Some will respond, "Yes, it does
depend on our works. Ellen White
says, 'It is a part of God's plan to
grant us, in answer to the prayer of
faith, that which He would not bestow did we not thus ask.'s So asking,
then, is a work which is required of
us."
Really? Asking, for asking's sake,
is a requirement? Ellen White also
says, "Our prayers do not always

seem to receive an immediate answer;

but Christ teaches tha t we should not
cease to pray. Prayer is not to work
any change in God; it is to bring us
into harmony with God.',6
Far from being a mechanical requirement to be performed for its
own sake, prayer is intended to
change us, to bring our hearts into
harmony with God. And note as well
that the un fallen worlds were left out
of the discussion. Nowhere can it be
shown from an inspired source that
confession must be made audibly for
the benefit of unfallen worlds. Instead we find that "the silent, fervent
prayer of the soul will rise like holy
incense to the throne of grace and
will be as acceptable to God as if offered in the sanctuary.',7
Surely, if confession required
audible prayer, the Lord would have
told us. And if it is required, forgive
me, please, for asking what hope a
deaf-mute has.
This whole discussion rna y seem
ludicrous, but it is just such "legal"
technicalities that form the basis of
"spiritual warfare."
In tercession

The second distinctive feature of

this "ministry" is its concept of intercession and intercessory prayer.
They hold that, "just as Christ ... became the intermediary between the
godhead and man, He is asking each
one of us to accept the privilege and
honor of becoming intercessors for
our fellow men by His working in us
and through US.',8
It is this concept of intercession
that leads the "warriors," when
necessary, to confess and/or reveal
another's sins. They may claim
promises or victories for someone who
is incapable of doing so for himself.
They may even take upon themselves
another's sins (or demons) to assist in
freeing the powerless individual.
The alternative, of course, is a dependence upon Him who "ever liveth
to make intercession." Hebrews 7:25
The Theory in Practice
These two root concepts (a "legal
ba ttle" as exemplified in the matter
of confession and many other areas,
and intercession in another's behalf)
find their culmination in the
ceremony of "direct confrontation."
This procedure is the most severe
employment of "deliverance" principles. It is an attempt to meet the
"legal" requirements for the exorcism
of demon powers from the life of one
who-theoretically, at least-no longer
has the ability to choose for himself.
In practice, there has been great con-

cern that these dramatic, full-scale

measures have been used somewhat
indiscriminately, and with questionable results, particularly on the
long range.
When the "spiritual warriors" conclude that direct confrontation is in
order, the "patient" is asked to lie
down on a mattress on the floor, for
two reasons: first, for the sake of
comfort during a session which may
last for many hours, and second, for
his own physical protection should he
develop seizures.

Jesus did not cast

them out in an
orderly one-at-a-time
sequence. He sent the
whole lot fleeing at
once.

Ga thering around the mattress

upon their knees, each "warrior"
prays for the Lord's blessing. The
"patient" (we will call 'him John) is
asked to pray in his own behalf. If he
cannot, one of the group prays in his
stead. "Dear heavenly Father, I come
in the name of John, because the
demonic forces will not give him
utterance. But Father, he has already
expressed his desire for freedom.... I
now come before the throne knowing
his will and expressing that will
through my voice. I, John, through an
understanding of the conditions that
need to be met for you to legally
move on my behalf. .. invite the Holy
Spirit to fulfill each condition
through me.,,9
Following a detailed procedure,
the "warriors" deal methodically
with what they see to be the problem:
"I declare that all demonic forces
that have come in illegally because
the will has been down will be
removed by [holy] angels. . . . I further declare that all demons not
specifically assigned to John will now
leave this room and stay removed....
Thank You, Lord, that this is done.
"Furthermore, demons, you cannot
molest anyone in this room. You can
do no harm, physically, emotionally,
maritally, mentally, or spiritually to
anyone in this room. . . . I further
declare that this room is totally in
quarantine to any outside evil forces
that would desire to enter this battle.
Thank You, Lord, that this is done."l0

In the course of this procedure we

see the third distinctive characteristic
of "spiritual warfare." The deliberate
contacting of demonic forces-considered a necessity by the warriors-is
.perhaps the most controversial aspect
of this whole philosophy. "Now
demons. . . . when you are compelled
to identify your presence in [John's]
life. . . . you are authorized to use
only the avenues in John that you already have legal access to....
"[Jesus Christ] has shown His angels the order in which each commander is to be brought up to this
battle. The one He has personally
chosen to be first will be forced by
holy angels to show his presence and
give his name. ['Confusion' is the example used.]
"Demon of confusion, ... you will
be taken from John by angels that
excel in strength. You will be taken
to a place that Christ wishes you to
go. You will be held there until Jesus
personally releases you at the end of
time.... You will go out through the
breath."n
According to the teachings of
"spiritual warfare," John is on the
way to becoming a free man. The
process may require hours, days, or
even extend over a period of weeks,
but when the last demon is finally
cast out, John should be free to serve
the Lord. Actual case histories indica te that the devil must still have
some tricks up his sleeve, since expectations are not always fulfilled-but
tha t result is beyond the scope of this
article.
What about talking with demons?
"Spiritual warfare" declares it a
necessary step in the "battle." What is
the biblical evidence?
The well-known accounts' of the
healing of the demoniacs of Gadara
(see Mark 5:6-13, Luke 8:27-33) do
contain reference to Jesus conversing
briefly with the demons controlling
the two men. These passages form the
biblical base for this aspect of
"spiritual warfare." But is this base
really supporting the practices just
described?
No, for at least five reasons:
I) Though there arc two accounts,
they represent only one incidentcertainly not Christ's general practice.
2) Jesus did not initiate the conversation with the devils as do modern
day "warriors"; ceitainly He did not'
consider discussion a prerequisite to
exorcism, for He had already "commanded the unclean spirit to come
out of the man." 3) Though Jesus did
ask "What is thy name?" He was
easily satisfied with the answer of
"Legion," and made no effort to
pursue the individual names of the
thousands of devils thus indicated.

4) Nor did He cast them out in an

orderly one-at-a-time sequence, but
ra ther sent the whole lot fleeing at
once. 5) Lastly, the biblical account
indicates a short time span for the entire exchange, not hours, days, nor
weeks, but minutes.
As for support from the Spirit of
Prophecy, it is fragmentary at best.
Perhaps the clearest statement is
found in Testimonies to Ministers, 249:
"In this period of the world's history
we have altogether too great a work
to begin a new kind of warfare in
meeting the supernatural power of
satanic agencies."
But What About the Prophets?
"Spiritual warfare" has spun off a
new subculture within the last two
and a half years. Across the United
States more than twenty individualsall of whom have had previous involvement in "spiritual warfare"have begun to hear a supernatural
"thought voice" which identifies itself as Jesus Christ. This voice says
much with which any conservative
Adventist could agree. But it also says
more, specifically using the vocabulary, and encouraging the practices,
of the "warriors." Many individuals
have received letters of instruction
and warning from these "prophets."
And many have been faced with the
decision to either accept or reject
their work. What are our people to do?
One interesting development of all
this is that some have tried to selectively take one or the other of the
two phenomena while leaving the one
they don't care for. Some "warriors"
are reluctant to claim that .the gift of
prophecy has been revived in the
church. Others have accepted one or
more of the prophets, but are hesitant
to become involved with the sensationalism of "spiritual warfare." But the
fact is, they are so closely related and
complementary that they must either
stand or fall together.

More than twenty

people all testify to
the same process

Continued on 31
August, 1986 Our Firm Foul/datiol/ 21

Mind Cure
Ellen G. Wllite

HE RELATION that exists between the mind and the body is

very intimate. When one is affected,
the other sympathizes. The condition
of the mind affects the health to a
far greater degree than many realize.
Many of the diseases from which men
suffer are the result of mental depression. Grief, anxiety, discontent,
remorse, guilt, distrust, all tend to
break down the life forces, and to invite decay and death.
Disease is sometimes produced, and
is often greatly aggravated, by the
imagination. Many are lifelong invalids who might be well if they only
thought so. Many imagine that every
slight exposure will cause illness, and
the evil effect is produced because it
is expected. Many die from disease,
the cause of which is wholly imaginary.
Courage, hope, faith, sympathy,
love, promote health and prolong life.
A contented mind, a cheerful spirit,
is health to the body and strength to
the soul. "A merry [rejoicing] heart
doeth good like a medicine."
In the treatment of the sick, the
effect of mental influence should not
be overlooked. Rightly used, this influence affords one of the most effective agencies for combating
disease.

22 Our Firm Foundation August, 1986

Control of Mind over Mind

There is, however, a form of mindcure that is one of the most effective
agencies for evil. Through this socalled science, one mind is brought
under the control of another, so that
the individuality of the weaker is
merged in that of the stronger mind.

The theory of mind

controlling mind was
originated by Satan to
introduce himself as
the chief
worker
One person acts out the will of
another. Thus it is claimed that the
tenor of the thoughts may be
changed, that health-giving impulses
may be imparted, and patients may be
enabled to resist and overcome
disease.
This method of cure has been
employed by persons who were ignorant of its real nature and

tendency, and who believed it to be a

means of benefit to the sick. But the
so-called science is based upon false
principles. It is foreign to the nature
and spirit of Christ. It does not lead
to Him who is life and salvation. The
one who attracts minds to himself
leads them to separate from the true
Source of their strength.
It is not God's purpose that any
human being should yield his mind
and will to the control of another, becoming a passive instrument in his
hands. No one is to merge his individuality in that of another. He is
not to look to any human being as the
source of healing. His dependence
must be in God. In the dignity of his
God-given manhood, he is to be controlled by God Himself, not by any
human intelligence.
God desires to bring men into
direct relation with Himself. In all
His dealings with human beings He
recognizes the principle of personal
responsibility. He seeks to encourage
a sense of personal dependence, and
to impress the need of personal
guidance. He desires to bring the
human into association with the
divine, that men may be transformed
into the divine likeness. Satan works
to thwart this purpose. He seeks to
encourage dependence upon men.
When minds are turned away from
God, the tempter can bring them under his rule. He can control humanity.
The theory of mind controlling
mind was originated by Satan, to introduce himself as the chief worker,
to put human philosophy where
divine philosophy should be. Of all
the errors tha t are finding acceptance
among professedly Christian people,
none is a more dangerous deception,
none more certain to separate man
from God, than is this. Innocent
though it may appear, if exercised
upon patients it will tend to their
destruction, not to their restoration. It
opens a door through which Satan
will enter to take possession both of
the mind that is given up to be controlled by another, and of the mind
that controls. Fearful is the power
thus given to evil-minded men and
women. What opportunities it affords
to those who live by taking advantage
of other's weaknesses or follies! How
many, through control of minds
feeble or diseased, will find a means
of gratifying lustful passion or greed
of gain!
.
There is something better for us to
engage in than the control of humanity by humanity. The physician
should educate the people to look
from the human to the divine. Instead
of teaching the sick to depend upon
human beings for the cure of soul
and body, he should direct them to

the One who can save to the uttermost all who come unto Him. He who
made man's mind knows what the
mind needs. God alone is the One who
can heal. Those whose minds and
bodies are diseased are to behold in
Christ the restorer. "Because I live,"
He says, "Ye shall live also." This is
the life we are to present to the sick,
telling them that if they have faith in
Christ as the restorer, if they cooperate with Him, obeying the laws
of health, and striving to perfect
holiness in His fear, He will impart to
them His life. When we present Christ
.to them in this way, we are imparting
a power, a strength, that is of value;
for it comes from above. This is the
true science of healing for body and
soul. ...
The Power of the Will
The power of the wiII is not
valued as it should be. Let the will be
kept awake and rightly directed, and
it will impart energy to the whole
being, and will be a wonderful aid in
the maintenance of health. It is a
power also in dealing with disease.
Exercised in the right direction, it
would control the imagination, and be
a potent means of resisting and overcoming disease of both mind and
body. By the exercise of the willpower in placing themselves in right
relation to life, patients can do much
to co-operate with the physician's efforts for their recovery. There are
thousands who can recover health if
they will. The Lord does not want
them to be sick. He desires them to be
well and happy, and they should
make up their minds to be well. Often

invalids can resist disease, simply by

refusing to yield to ailments and
settle down in a state of inactivity.
Rising above their aches
pains,
let them engage in useful employment
suited to their strength. By such
employment and the free use of air
and sunlight, many an emaciated invalid might recover health and
strength.

and

When the sunlight of

God's love illuminates
the darkened chambers
of the soul, restless
weariness and
dissatisfaction will cease
Bible Principles 01 Cure
For those who would regain or
preserve health there is a lesson in
the words of Scripture, "Be not drunk
with wine, wherein is excess; but be
filled with the Spirit." Not through
the excitement or oblivion produced
by unnatural or unhealthful stimulants; not through indulgence of the
lower appetites or passions, is to be
found true healing or refreshment for
the body or the soul. Among the sick
are many who are without God and
without hope. They suffer from
ungratified desires, disordered passions, and the condemnation of their
own consciences; they are losing their

.hold upon this life, and they have no

prospect for the life to come. Let not
the attendants upon the sick hope to
benefit these patients by granting
them frivolous, exciting indulgences..
These have been the curse of their
lives. The hungry, thirsting soul will
continue to hunger and thirst so long
as it seeks to find satisfaction here.
Those who drink at the fountain of
selfish pleasure are deceived. They
mistake hilarity for strength, and
when the excitement ceases, their inspiration ends, and they are left to
discontent and despondency.
Abiding peace, true rest of spirit,
has but one Source. It was of this -that
Christ spoke when He said, "Come
unto Me, all ye that labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you
rest." "Peace I leave with you, My
peace I give unto you; not as the
world giveth, give I unto you." This
peace is not something that He gives
apart from Himself. It is in Christ,
and we can receive it only by receivingHim.
Christ is the well-spring of life.
That which many need is to have a
clearer knowledge of Him; they need
to be patiently and kindly, yet
earnestly, taught how the whole being
may be thrown open to the healing
agencies of heaven. When the sunlight
of God's love illuminates the
darkened chambers of the soul, restless weariness and dissatisfaction will
cease; and satisfying joys will give
vigor to the mind, and health and
energy to the body.
II
Ministry of Healing, 241-244, 246, 247

para..aea..... earaeaPJPa'

We may gain a better knowledge of God through tribulation than through any other experience; lor we may
then learn to trust God in the dark. Signs of the Times, March 28, 1892
I have been shown that in the future we shall see how closely all our trials were connected with our salvation,
and how these light afflictions worked out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Sel'enth-day
Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1099
.

When brought into trial, we are not to fret and complain. We should not rebel, or worry ourselves out of the
hand of Christ. We are to humble the soul before God. The ways 01 the Lord are obscure to him who desires to
see things in a light pleasing to himself. Desire of Ages, 301
The very trials that test our faith most severely, and make it seem that God has forsaken us are designed to
lead us more closely to Christ, that we may lay all our burdens at His feet, and experience the peace He wlll give
us in exchange. Testimonies, vol. 4, 220
.
If injuries and insults are meekly borne, if insulting words are responded to by gentle answers, and oppresshe
acts by kindness, this is evidence that the Spirit of Christ dwells In the heart. Testimonies, vol. 5, 344

A ugusl, 1986 Ol/r Firm FOIIl/da/ioll 23

",

- ::'1'
-=-'

LEITERS TO THE EDITOR

Last night I received the impression that I should enroll my dear

mother (a devout Catholic) in your
Bible Course. I hope that you will
send the course to her please.
Osvaldo and Antonia Gonzalez
Arecibo, Puerto Rico
[EDITORS NOTE: The Gonzalez's second
letter, bringing an update on the
Bible Course, is one of our favorites.]
We would like to inform you that
as a result of sending the Happiness
Digest to Mother in Colorado, she is
spending an hour every day studying
the word of God. We are so thankful
for that. She even has a friend that is
interested in studying also.
Osvaldo and Antonia Gonzalez
Arecibo, Puerto Rico
For many years now I've been
looking for someone to publish basic
Adventist truths, not as the people
want to hear it, but the way it is. A
friend of mine introduced me to this
remarka ble magazine and even
though he lets me read some of his, I
would like to have my own.
Donald R. Tardiff
Winter Garden, Florida
The March issue of Our Firm
Foundation is excellent, outstanding,
great, inspiring, and right on target as
far as our Truth and Message are concerned. I love it. I wish every
Seventh-day Adventist in the world
could read this excellent issue. It is
exactly what we need in this end
time. If this publication could not
reach the reader, wha! could?
James R. and Charlotte Cherry
Sccttsdale, Arizona

24 Our Firm Foundation August. 1986

Have been reading the special

Health edition of Our Firm FOItIldalion and really like it. For a long time
we have needed information about
health to hand out. We feel this issue
is excellent to give to people interested in health reform or to open eyes
about our health situation. We would
appreciate whatever amount you have
in the above range.
Rodger and Rose Kimbrell
Aquona, North Carolina
Being new Adventists of almost
three years, we have noticed what is
new news to us, is old news and sometimes forgotten news to others in the
churches.
We pray that Our Firm Foundation
will let the light shine through for us
all, so that God's work can get
finished.
Everett and Connie Hopper
Winchester, Tennessee
Might I first commend you on the
excellent work you've done in preparing each issue of such an inspirational magazine. I've very much enjoyed every issue that I have read at
the Union Springs Academy library;
and am now enjoying those I receive
at home. God's blessings upon the soul
who thought of Union Springs when
dona ting subscriptions!
John Charles Schumacher
Still River, Massachusetts
I had to go to Knoxville,
Tennessee, to find that you are putting out the pure "Three Angels'
Messages." As long as you stick to the
Spirit of Prophecy and the pure
doctrine of the founding fathers of
this truth, I'll be with you.
May God bless you as you attempt

to turn this denomination from modernism to the pure Word.

Robert E. Williams
Tonasket, Washington
What a marvelous, solemn time to
be living. It seems to us that we see
an awakening, more studying, and
praying,
May your magazine eventually
find its way into every home. What a
blessing it is to us!
Ken and Doris Glantz
Calton, Oregon
I received a free issue of Our Firm
Foundation from a good friend and I
love it. I've been in the church for
about four years and I see the banner
of truth being lowered in so many
places, I praise God you are lifting it
back up. I want to help hold it up. I
want a magazine that gives me
"solid" spiritual food.
Thanks again for doing the right
thing for Jesus. May He bless and
open new doors for you as we get
closer to the promised land. It is not
far off as I see things going.
Mr. and Mrs. Gorden F. Pehler
Arcadia, Wisconsin
We surely do appreciate the service
you folks are giving to awaken God's
people.
We are glad you don't emphasize
the errors in the church as much as
you do the real message.
We don't need criticism but we
need to be pointed to Jesus and
obedience to His commands.
Mr. and Mrs. Ed Johnson
Mattawa, Washington

Snares

Of
Satan
Ellen G. White
s

THE people of God approach

the perils of the last days, Satan
holds earnest consultation with his
angels as to the most successful plan
of overthrowing their faith. He sees
that the popular churches are already
lulled to sleep by his deceptive power.
By pleasing sophistry and lying wonders he can continue to hold them
under his control. Therefore he directs his angels to lay their snares
especially for those who are looking
for the second advent of Christ, and
endeavoring to keep all the commandments of God.
Says the great deceiver: "We must
watch those who are calling the attention of the people to the Sabbath of
Jehovah; they will lead many to see
the claims of the law of God; and the
same light which reveals the true
Sabbath, reveals also the ministration
of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary,
and shows that the last work for
man's salvation is now going forward.
Hold the minds of the people in
darkness till that work is ended, and
we shall secure the world and the
church also.
"The Sabbath is the great question
which is to decide the destiny of
souls. We must exalt the Sabbath of
our creating. We have caused it to be
accepted by both worldlings and
church members; now the church

must be led to unite with the world in

its support. We must work by signs
and wonders to blind their eyes to the
truth, and lead them to lay aside
reason and the fear of God, and follow custom and tradition.

Many who are

now ranked with
commandment
keepers will corne
over to our
side
"I will influence popular ministers
to turn the attention of their hearers
from the commandments of God. That
which the Scriptures declare to be a
perfect law of liberty shall be represented as a yoke of bondage. The
people accept their ministers' explanations of Scripture, and do not investigate for themselves. Therefore by
working through the ministers, I can
control the people according to my
will.

"But our principal concern is to silence this sect of Sabbath-keepers. We

must excite popular indignation
against them. We will enlist great men
and worldly wise men upon our side,
and induce those in authority to
carry out our purposes. Then the Sabbath which I have set up shall be enforced by laws the most severe and
exacting. Those who disregard them
shall be driven out from the cities
and villages, and made to suffer
hunger and privation. When once we'
have the power, we will show what
we can do with those who will not
swerve from their allegiance to God.
We led the Romish Church to inflict
.imprisonment, torture, and death
upon those who refused to yield to
her decrees, and now that we are
bringing the Protestant churches and
the world into harmony with this
right arm of our strength, we will
finally have a law to exterminate all
who will not submit to our authority.
When death shall be made the penalty
of violating our Sabbath, then many
who are now ranked with commandment keepers will come over to our
side.
"But before proceeding to these
extreme measures we must exert all
our wisdom and subtlety to deceive
and en.snare those who honor the true
Sabbath. We can separate many from
August, 1996 0111' Firm FOlllldalioll 25

Christ by worldliness, lust, and pride.

They may 'think fhemselves safe because they believe the truth, but indulgence of appetite or the lower
passions, which will confuse judgment and destroy discrimination, will
cause their fall.
"Go, make the possessors of lands
and money drunk with the cares of
this life. Present the world before
them in its most attractive light, that
they may lay up their treasure here,
and fix their affections upon earthly
things. We must do our utmost to
prevent those who labor in God's
cause from obtaining means to use
against us. Keep the money in our
own ranks. The more means they
obtain, the more they will injure our
kingdom by taking from us our
subjects. Make them care more for
money than for the upbuilding of
Christ's kingdom and the spread of
the truths we hate, and we need not
fear their influence; for we know
that every selfish, covetous person
will fall under our power, and will
finally be separated from God's
people.
"Through those that have a form
of godliness but know not the power,
we can gain many who would otherwise do us great harm. Lovers of
pleasure more than lovers of God will
be our most effective helpers. Those
of this class who are apt and intelligent will serve as decoys to draw
others into our snares. Many will not
fear their influence, because they
profess the same faith. We will thus
lead them to conclude that the requirements of Christ are less strict
than they once believed, and that by
conformity to the world they would
exert a greater influence with worldlings. Thus they will separate from
Christ; then they will have no
strength to resist our power, and
erelong they will be ready to ridicule
their former zeal and devotion.
"Until the great decisive blow
shall be struck, our efforts against
commandment keepers must be untiring. We must exercise great vigilance,
and employ all our seductive arts to
prevent souls from hearing the truth
and becoming impressed by it.
"I will have upon the ground, as
my agents, men holding false doctrines mingled with just enough truth
to deceive souls. I will also have unbelieving ones present, who will
express doubts in regard to the Lord's
messages of warning to His church.
Should the people read and believe
these admonitions, we could have
little hope of overcoming them. But if
we can divert their attention from
these warnings, they will remain ignorant of our power and cunning and
we shall secure them in our ranks at
26 Our Firm Foundation August, 1986

last. God will not permit His words to

be slighted with impunity. If we can
keep souls deceived for a time, God's
mercy will be withdrawn, and He will
give them up to our full control.
"We must cause distraction and
division. We must destroy their
anxiety for their own souls, and lead
them to criticize, to judge, and to accuse and condemn one another, and to
cherish selfishness and enmity. For
these sins, God banished us from His
presence, and all who follow our example will meet a similar fate."
The Scriptures declare that upon
one occasion, when the angels of God
came to present themselves before the
Lord, Satan came also among them,
not to bow before the Eternal King,
but to further his own malicious
designs against the righteous. With

that they fail to hear the very things

which they most need to learn.
.
Satan well knows that all whom he
can lead to neglect prayer and the
searching of the Scriptures will be
overcome by his attacks. Therefore he
invents every possible device to
engross the mind. There has ever been
a class professing godliness who, instead of following on to know the
truth, make it their religion to seek
some fault of character or error of
faith in those with whom they do not
agree. Such are Satan's right-hand
helpers. Accusers of the brethren are
not few; and they are always active
when God is at work, and His servants are rendering to Him true
homage. They will put a false coloring upon the words and acts of those
who love and obey the truth. They

It is Satan's plan to bring into the

church insincere, unregenerate
elements that will encourage doubt

the same object he is in 'attendance

when men assemble for the worship
of God. Though hidden from sight, he
is working with all diligence to control the minds of the worshipers. Like
a skillful general, he lays his plans
beforehand. As he sees the messenger
of God searching the Scripures, he
takes note of the subject to be
presen ted to the peop Ie. Then he
employs all his cunning and shrewdness to so control circumstances that
the message may not reach those
whom he is deceiving on that very
point. The one who most needs the
warning will be urged into some business transaction which requires his
presence, or will by some other means
be prevented from hearing the words
that might prove to him a savor of
life unto life.
Again, Satan sees the Lord's servants burdened because of the spiritual darkness that enshrouds the
people. He hears their earnest prayers
for divine grace and power to break
the spell of indifference, carelessness,
and idolence. Then with renewed zeal
he plies his arts. He tempts men to the
indulgence of appetite or to some
other form of self gratification, and
thus benumbs their sensibilities, so

will represent the most earnest,

zealous, self-denying servants of
Christ as deceived or deceivers. It is
their work to misrepresent the motives of every true and noble deed, to
circulate insinuations, and arouse suspicion in the minds of the inexperienced. In every conceivable manner
they will seek to cause that which is
pure and righteous to be regarded as
foul and deceptive. And in this work'.
the agents of Satan have their master
and his angels to help them.
But none need be deceived concerning them. It may be readily seen
whose children they are, whose example they follow, and whose work
they do. "Ye shall know them by
their fruits" (Matthew 7:16). They
closely resemble Satan, the envenomed slanderer, the accuser of the
brethren.
It is Satan's plan to bring into the
church insincere, unregenerate elements that will encourage doubt and
unbelief, and hinder all who desire to
see the work of God advance, and to
advance with it. Many who have no
real faith in God or in His word, assent to some principles of truth, and
pass as Christians; and thus they are
enabled to introduce their errors as

scriptural doctrines.
The position that it is of no consequence what men believe, is one of
Satan's most successful deceptions. He
knows that the truth, received in the
love of it, sanctifies the soul of the
receiver; therefore he is constantly
seeking to substitute false theories,
fables, another gospel. From the beginning, the servants of God have contended against false teachers, not
merely as vicious men, but as inculcators of falsehoods that were fatal to
the soul. Elijah, Jeremiah, Paul,
firmly and fearlessly opposed those
holy defenders of the truth....
The Bible was designed to be a
guide to all who wish to become acquainted with the will of their
Maker. God ga ve to men the sure
word of prophecy; angels and even

so weak that they lose their balance.

They cannot harmonize their views of
science with Scripture statements, and
they think that the Bible is to be
tested by their standard of "science
falsely so called." Thus they err from
the faith, and are seduced by the
devil. Men have endeavored to be
wiser than their Creator; human philosophy has attempted to search out and
explain mysteries which will never be
revealed, through the eternal ages. If
men would but search and understand
what God has made known of Himself and His purposes, they would. obtain such a view of the glory, majesty, and power of Jehovah, that they
would realize their own littleness,
and would be content with that which
has been revealed for themselves and
their children.

Tltose WllO are unrwilling to accept the

plain, cutting truths of the Bible are
continually seeking for pleasing
fables that will quiet their consciences
Christ Himself came to make known
to Daniel and John the things that
must shortly come to pass. Those important matters that concern our salvation were not left involved in
mystery. They were not revealed in
such a way as to perplex and mislead
the honest seeker after truth. Said the
Lord by the prophet Habakkuk,
"Write the vision, and make it plain
upon tables, that he may run that
readeth it." (Habakkuk 2:2, 3) The
word of God is plain to all who study
it with a prayerful heart. Every truly
honest soul will come to the light o(
truth. "Light is sown for the righteous." (Psalm 97:11) No church can
advance in holiness unless its members ,are earnestly seeking for truth as
for hid treasure.
By the cry of liberality, men are
blinded to the devices of their
adversary, while he is all the time
working steadily for the accomplishment of his object. As he succeeds in
supplanting the word of truth by
human speculations, the law of God is
set aside, and the churches are under
,the bondage of sin while they claim
to be free.
To many, scientific research has
become a curse; their finite minds are

It is a masterpiece of Satan's
deceptions to keep the minds of men
searching and conjecturing in regard
to that which God has not made
known, and which He does not intend
that we shall understand. It was thus
that Lucifer himself was cast out of
heaven. He became dissatisfied because all the secrets of God's purposes
were not confided to him, and he entirely disregarded that which was
revealed concerning his own work in
the lofty position assigned him. By
arousing the same discontent in the
angels under his command, he caused'
their fall. Now he seeks to imbue the
minds of men with the same spirit,
and to lead them also to disregard the
direct commands of God.
Those who are unwilling to accept
the plain, cutting truths of the Bible
are continually seeking for pleasing
fables that will quiet their consciences, The less spiritual, self-denying,
and humiliating the doctrines presented, the greater the favor with
which they are received. These persons degrade the intellectual powers
to serve their carnal desires. Too wise
in their own conceit to search the
word of God with contrition of soul
and earnest prayer for divine

guidance, they have no shield from

delusion. Satan is ready to supply the
heart's desire, and he palms off his
deceptions in the place of truth. It
was thus' 'that the Papacy gained its
power over the minds of men; and by
rejection of the truth because it involves a cross, Protestants are followin'g the same path. All who neglect
the word of God to study convenience
and policy, that they may not be at
variance with the world, will be left
to receive damnable heresy for religious truth. The apostle Paul speaks
of a class who "received not the love
of the truth, that they might be
saved." He says of these, "For this
cause God shall send them strong
delusion, that they should believe a
lie, that they all might be damned
who believed not the truth, but had
pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12) With such a warning before us, it behooves us to be on
our guard as to what doctrines we
receive....
Innumerable are the erroneous
doctrines and fanciful ideas that are
obtaining among the churches of
Christendom. It is impossible to estimate the evil results of removing
one of the landmarks fixed by the
word of God. Few who venture to do
this, stop with the rejection of a
single truth. The majority continue to
set aside one after another of its
principles, until they become actual
infidels.
And this is the object which Satan
seeks to accomplish. There is nothing
that he desires more than to destroy
confidence in God and in His word.
Satan stands at the head of the great
army of doubters, and he works to
the utmost of his power to beguile
souls into his ranks. It is becoming
fashionable to doubt. There are many
who seem to feel that it is a virtue to
stand on the side of unbelief, skepticism, and infidelity. But underneath
an appearance of candor and humility, it will be found that such persons
arc actuated by self-confidence and
pride. It is a terrible thing to lose
faith in God or in His word. Unbelief
strengthens as it is encouraged. There
is danger in even once giving expression to doubt; a seed is sown which'
produces a harvest of its kind. Satan
will nourish the crop every moment.
Those who allow themselves to talk of
their doubts will find them constantly be"oming more confirmed.
God will never remove every occasion
for doubt. He will never work a
miracle to remove unbelief when He
has given sufficient evidence for
faith.

Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 337-349
August, 1986 Ollr Firm FOIIl/datiol/ 27

Mystical
Medicine
Warren Peters) M.D.

T ODAY MANY Christians are be-

coming aware of the relationship

that exists between the mind, the
body, and the spirit for achieving total health. As a Christian physician
with nine years of traditional humanistic medical and surgical training, I
was awakening to the concept of the
"whole man." I began to study books
authored by Hans Selye, MD., Nathan
Pritikin, O. Carl Simonton, MD.,
Rene Dubos, Norman Cousins and
James Lynch. I even "dabbled" for
the first time in Christian books like
Ministry of Healing and Medical
Ministry. It seemed that I could see a
common thread of world brotherhood
and mind expansion which could
solve the tension I felt in the
materialistic and technocratic surgical world that I lived in. Perhaps the
practice of surgery did hold more
challenge than just another by-pass
surgery, which I knew from experience merely postponed death but
did little to change the cause of the
underlying disease condition.
I became interested in the popular
holistic health movement as it began
to sweep over this country. It was
gratifying and reassuring to see that
practitioners of the "holistic arts"
were concerned about the totality of
man, and I felt a certain camaraderie
with them. Frustration in my own
field gave way to hope for a better,
more humane method of practice. It
was rather stimulating to be on the
edge of "new frontiers" in medicine.
It was stimulating to be a medical
heretic and challenge the stuffy
"medical establishment." There was a
28 Our Firm FOUr/dation August, 1986

delightful informality with these

practitioners. We hugged each other
and accepted one another with our
various peculiarities. This openness
among the holistic professionals was
in marked contrast to the highly
competitive, formal atmosphere of
traditional medicine. We had common
goals in the lifestyle aspects of nutrition and exercise. We even talked
about the spiritual aspects of man,
something that was strictly forbidden
in the standard practice of medicine.

I felt like
a real
mISSIonary
"Leave those matters to the clergy
and get on with the technology of
saving lives," was the implied directive from modern allopathic medicine. But for what reason? There had
to be more to life than the latest
technical advances in synthetic arteries or woven dacron prosthetic
grafts. What was happening to the
"souls" and the "spirits" of these
human beings that I was putting synthetic arteries into? Who was taking
care of their tears and hurts? Who
cared about the whole person?

One evening I was asked to speak

at a local holistic health meeting that
mct in thc pleasant, comfortable
homc of several health professionals.
There was much expression of acceptance and love. No one was ignored and I immediately felt at ease.
As the meeting began we were led in
an exercise of "centering" by a large,
soft-spoken man. His melodious voice
called us to lay aside the hectic activities of the day and to "become
focused" on our immediate surroundings and on one another's personal
needs. We were to empty our minds of
any negative thoughts and to become
open to any ideas that would flow
through our discussion. We quietly
closed our eyes, relaxed, and centered
our attention on each other and the
"rhythm of life." Because of my
Christian social upbringing I thought
we were just having "opening
prayer." There was some rather vague
references to a "unified consciousness" which in my naivete I assumed was reference to God. This
idea made me even more at ease with
this "family" of nurses, doctors, and
research scientists. They were cer-'
tainly no wild-eyed "hippie" group.
They were "caring" professionals that
I could trust. That night I spoke to
them about vegetarianism and its impact on health. The topic was well
received and many expressed interest
in the fact that my church heritage
included healthful teaching. Even
though my Christian church ties were
quite weak at that point, I felt like a
real missionary. These people were
accepti ng of all religions: Christian,

Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, atheist.

The next speaker was a registered
nurse from a local hospital cardiaccare unit. With convincing organization and well-thought-out conclusions, she presented the concepts
of "touch therapy." Without actually
touching the patient's body, the practitioner can purportedly adjust his
"electrical aura." This adjustment is
accomplished by allowing the hands
to flow above the limbs and trunk
with spiral movements. We divided
into groups of two and practiced our
"innate" ability to sense the
"v i bra tions" of energy tha t she had
said "clothed" the body. I wasn't sure
tha t I could truly sense what she
described, or what my partner enthusiastically experienced. But then, I
was sure that I just needed more
practice. I could feel the warmth of
her skin next to mine. Thermal radiation I could explain physiologically,
but this force was supposed to be
something different. Perhaps there
could be "energy" of which I was not
fully aware.
The nurse then had a doctor Iie
down on the floor while she moved
"congested energy" from his pelvic
region to his legs. The doctor was able
to testify that he indeed experienced
a strange, but comforta ble, tingling
and warmth in his lower extremities.
-As a peripheral vascular surgeon, this
assertion was of great interest to me. I
was thinking how this new "energy"
could be used to save those gangrenous legs and toes for which amputation was the only sad solution when
there were no more arteries to bypass
into. It was certainly more "natural"
and humane than an amputation
knife. My mind was focused on those
pathetic people that I longed to help
and often couldn't. Perhaps this system was the help that scientific advances had been unable to supply.
The nurse then moved her hands
over the physician's chest in the same
circular pattern. Suddenly she
stopped, and with a cry of exclamation said, "You have a hard time
completing tasks, don't you?" I was
jolted to reality. The soft lights and
pleasant voices no longer clouded my
thinking. What had I heard? Was she
"divining" his personali"ty characteristics from these supposed
"vi bra tions"?
Suddenly and clearly I could see
what I was dealing with. This experience opened my mind to the realization that I must investigate the
origin and mode of operation of these
phenomena. This procedure was not
some simple physiological technique
that modern medicine had overlooked. Instead, it seemed to be a tool
for "divining" the future. What did

Scripture say about the power of

Sa tan? Could he be the source of
these "good techniques"?
"The coming of the lawless one
will be in accordance with the work
of Satan, displayed in all kinds of
counterfeit miracles, signs and
wonders, and in every sort of evil
that deceives those who are perishing.
They perish because they refuse to
love the truth and so be sa ved."l
This quotation depicts the great
controversy. Satan can and will do
miracles. After His resurrection, as
Jesus was triumphantly taken from
His disciples, victorious over His
arch-enemy, we are told that "Satan
again counseled with his angels, and
with bitter hatred against God's
government told them that while he
retained his power and authority
upon earth their efforts must be tenfold stronger against the followers of
Jesus. They had prevailed nothing
against Christ but must overthrow
His followers, if possible.,,2

They are but

channels for
Satan's
electric currents
Satan is using any and every
method to snare the followers of
Christ. I believe that the medicalmovement called "holistic health" is a
part of Satan's master plan to capture
unwary yet well-meaning people.
Many, such as I, have read a smattering of inspired writings about health.
They have a shallow understanding
of the Scriptures and have never
really taken the time to systematically decipher what God is really
trying to tell Christians about health
of the mind, body, and spirit. Armed
with a few selected quotations from
"religious" writers and Scripture
texts that tend to "prove" the validity
of their pet therapy or technique,
well-minded Christians have jumped
wholeheartedly into this movement.
No quotation has galvanized my
attention more than this succinct
description of the techniques that
Satan would use:
"All who do not earnestly search
the Scriptures and submit every desire and purpose of life to that unerring test, all who do not seek God in
prayer for a knowledge of His will,

will surely wander from th-e right

path and fall under the deception of
Satan. . . . His agents still claim to
cure disease. They attribute their
power to electricity, magnetism, or
the so-called 'sympathetic remedies.'
In truth, they are but channels for
Satan's electric currents. By this
means he casts his spell over the
bodies and souls of-men.,,3
Holistic Health is a diverse collection of healing techniques within the
New Age movement. The underlying
pervasive notion in many of the
holistic techniques is a fascination
with the "energy field." "Satan's
'electric currents" are an accurate
description of what we will now
explore. By starting with the more
obvious associations with energy and
working to the more subtle forms of
this deception, its interwoven threads
can be seen.
A common concept in much of Holistic Medicine is the "Aura." This
theory holds "that every object is enveloped in a field of magnetic energy
which acts as a medium for the interplay of other energies present in its
immediate environment. This magnetic energy field, or MEF, is composed of seven rays related to the
glands of the endocrine system. The
harmony and balance of every individual and the degree and quality
of each of these can be ascertained by
observing the aura either subjectively, as some sensitives are capable
of doing, or objectively using a special type of glass called a Kilner
screen."
Immediately we can see and hear
that this is no mere physiological
concept. Instead, it is being explained
in metaphysical terms of subjectivism
A medium is a necessary element.
There must be someone who is
"attuned" to these powers to see
them. Even the trappings of science
do not eliminate the need for a
"sensitive" person, the medium, to
operate the equipment. A very sophisticated piece of scientific equipment
with dials, scopes and meters does not
negate the fact that in this "science"
some people are more sensitive than
others. In fact, jn the technique called
radionics or psychotronics, the better
the operator gets at being sensitive to
the described "energy forces" the less
he needs the equipment until he is
able to divine the future or to make
diagnostic judgments even without
seeing the patient.
The seven "rays" of the magnetic
energy field are none other than the
Hindu concept of "Chakras" or
energy focal points. While many
authors try to treat the idea of the
aura and the chakras as some wholesome,. physiological, and natural event
August, 1986 Ollr Firm FOll/ldatio/l 29

in all humans, Djwal Kul, in an

amazing ravel of Christian terms and
mystical parlance helps us to see the
true origin of this idea. "The seven
centers' in your being are for the
release of God's energy. . . . These
seven centers are seven planes of
consciousness. We experience God'
differently in different frequencies.
:... What, then, is worthy to inherit
God? Only God is worthy of God. Unless we sense ourselves in and as God,
we will not consider ourselves to be
worthy of God. Therefore, that which
inherits immortal life is the immortal
flow of God which we make our own
through the chakras."s
What we have briefly seen in relation to the aura and the chakra is to
some extent representative of the
whole field of "holistic" medicine.
Over and over again the same ideas
come to the fore, albeit in a myriad
of forms. As a rule, the false systems
now finding acceptance in a surprisingly large cross section of society
can be identified by their inclusion
of three main concepts:
1) Energy: This is a recurring
theme. It may be called many things.
The Hindu calls it "Prana." Taoism
and ancient Chinese medicine call it
Ch'i, Ki, or Qi. D.D. Palmer, the
founder of chiropractic, called the
same energy "the innate." Franz Anton Mesmer used the word "Animal
Magnetism" and the witch doctors of
Polynesia refer to "Mana." Parapsychologists call it "Bioplasma."
George Lucas of Star Wars fame calls

2) World View: Monism (a doctrine

of universal "oneness") or Pantheism
predominates the philosophy of the
holistic healers. You are promised to
become part of the "cosmic whole,"
the "Christself." In essence, you can
become your own god. No matter how
appealing this may sound, it is far
from the truth. Unity of the whole
world may be a lofty goal, but it will
not happen without Jesus Christ as
the Sa viour.
3) Inherent Immortality: Reincarnation is a recurring theme. Some
form of life after death in varying
spiritual or physical forms must be
included in holistic health teaching to
answer the metaphysical questions
inherent in mankind. Unfortunately,
they fail to appreciate the clear, sen-

Under Orders: Where is Pope John

Paul II taking the Roman Catholic
Church? Already his firm hand has
reversed the direction the Roman
Church was headed when he came to
power. In the two decades that may
well remain to him, what new directions may we expect of this powerful
leader, determined not to let things
drift? The Pope seems himself as a
man under orders, a matter of duty
and obedience, and John Paul II is
nothing if not a man of deep convictions and a sharp sense of duty. It is
no accident that one of the new
Pope's first moves was to revive the
Sacred Congrega tion for Doctrine of
the Faith-formerly known as the
Inquisition. Christianity Today, October 6, 1985

First Pray, Later Slay: Coast to coast.

fundamentalists and preachers are
urging an age-old solution to their
woes: praying for the death of their
foes. The time for turning the other
cheek is past. In Los Angeles, Baptist
pastor R.L. Hymers Jr., called on his
congregation to pray for the death of
Supreme Court Justice William J.
Brennan Jr., because he supports a
woman's right to have an abortion. "I
wouldn't use the word aberration. I
think it may be that we're on the
avant-garde. We're doing something
the others will do later." Hymers ordered an airplane to circle overhead
as Brennan spoke at a law school
graduation. The plane trailed the
message; "Pray for death: Baby-killer
Brennan." USA Today, June I I, 1986

30 Our Firm Foundation August, 1986

it "The Force." But, by whatever

name, they are all "Satan's electric
currents." Beware of techniques that
are stated to balance or increase
energies or vibrations.

Would it not
be better to
seek after the
God of Israel?

sible teachings of the Bible on this

point.
These three concepts, though not
incorporated into all false teaching,
are really the backbone of "holistic"
teaching. They may be seen in
slightly varying form in the use of
pendulums, witching sticks, and "gem
therapy." They show themselves in
the practice of acupuncture, acupressure, reflexology, and iridology.
They are inherent in the pseudoscientific techniques of Behavioral
Kinesiology and Radiaesthesia. When
the .common denominator of these
healing systems is so readily apparent, it is cause for concern to find
that sincere Christians too often overlook these "problem areas" and seek
help through the de vii's methods.
Would it not be better to seek after
the God of Israel, than the gods of
Ekron?
IR
Adapted from the book Mystical
Medicine, available from
Hartland Publica tions
P.O. Box I
Rapidan, VA 22733

I. II Thessalonians 2:9, 10 NIV

2. Early Writillgs, 191
3. Testimollies, vol. 5, 192, 193
4. Djwal Kul, Illtermediate Stlldies of
the Hllmall Allra, I (Summit University
Press, 1980) emphasis supplied
5. Ibid., 79

Crusades Again? The Crusades do not

enjoy a good press in the modern
West-even among Christians the
Crusades have a poor reputation.
They were "bloody aberrations ... in
no way representative of biblical
Christianity." The fact that the
Crusades ultimately ended in failure
was a setback to the prestige of the
medieval Papacy, for the Church as a
whole. Many modern Christians reject
the Crusades with horror, believing
they were an attempt to make converts by force. Unless we understand
the jihad, a holy war, and begin to
take it seriously, we may soon find
ourselves at a point where nothing
less than a crusade can help. National
Review, August 9,1985

Light or Darkness, cont. from 21

Regardless, let's take a short look
at the "prophets." The first point of
interest is that rather than receiving
dreams or visions, these prophets hear
a voice. What is more, this voice
requires that its words be written
down verbatim. Those familiar with
biblical prophecy and the writings of
Ellen White will remember that a
relatively small proportion of what
earlier prophets have recorded was
dictated. Yet the minister on the cassette tape mentioned at the beginning
of the article assures us that he is
"acquainted with more than twenty
people to whom the Lord has spoken,
and they all testify to exactly the
same process."n
The second characteristic worthy
of notice is their use of flattery. "0
My child, My child! You are greatly
beloved.... and I praise thee." "Child
of light, blessed art thou. Love to
thee, I have in infinite abundance."
"I am excited for you! You have no
idea what glory I have for you. I am
excited for you." "I praise
that
you were willing to repent."l
Perhaps the most disconcerting
trai t of these dicta ted messages is the
introduction of unusual doctrinal
insights. For instance: "The potential
within My people for the crushing of
the enemy of all life is infinite!"
"You will untie My hands through
your prayers." "The direct teaching
of My word. . . . is My voice, child.
My Holy Word." "The spiritual
weight of spoken words is little understood or known by men of earth.

lOU

Someday I will show you vividly. It is

not time yet." "[Satan's] degeneration
in mental logic and power for sound
reasoning has been well nigh
complete. . . . he does not know how
to control his own power a t this

Many would find it

encouraging to
believe that Satan
was a dithering idiot

and death issues. I, for one, do not

like the sound of what I'm hearing
from these new sources. On even shallow examination, it just doesn't "ring
true." I reject these messages, including the portion which reads, "Do not
resist and draw back when you see
My hand working that which seems
out of line with your former
knowledge of Me."l5
But what of our imaginary average
Adventist? Did he really know better
than to get caught up in the occult?
Well, since his case is imaginary, and
since I prefer happy endings, let's say
that he did study, pray, and find his
way out of the mazes of "Adventist
spiritualism." By the grace of God, he
was spared, pulled back from the
edge of the cliff.
Now, dear reader, what of those
whose cases are not imaginary?
iii
I. "Ruth," cassette tape, no publisher,
no date
2. Ibid.
3. Robert A. Esh, Is Some Raill

point." "Many heavenly symbols are

not easy to understand. My symbols
have infinite meanings and wide
applications.,,14
Certainly many would find it encouraging to believe that Satan was a
dithering idiot, and Dr. Ford's "a potelesmatic principle" seems to fit well
with "infinite meanings and wide
applications."
In matters of conscience, it is
every man's responsibility to decide
for himself. Naturally-and tragically-opinions will vary even on life

Falling? A Warrior's Respollse to the General

Conference Report on Spiritual War fare, 69
(no publisher, 1985) emphasis supplied
4. Ibid., 77

5. The Great COlltroversy, 525

6. Christ's Object Lessolls, 143
7. Testimonies, vol. 4, 616
8. Esh, op. cit., 74
9. Ibid., 79
10. Ibid., 80, 81
II. Ibid., 81, 82
12. "Ruth," op. cit.
13. "Joyful,"
The
Spirit
Dictations,
PG-51, 52, 53 (Pilgrim's Rest, 1986)
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.

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